Abbey includes the following paragraph to introduce this book:
The story which follows was inspired by an event which took place in our country not many years ago. However, it is a work of fiction and any resemblance to living persons or actual places is accidental.
The hero of the story is John Vogelin, a New Mexico rancher whose land is about to be condemned by the United States Air Force, who want to use his land to expand a bombing range. He is the last holdout among the several people whose land the Air Force wants, and he refuses to move. The story of his resistance to being thrown off his land and his death is told through the eyes of his grandson, who is visiting the ranch for the summer.[4]
Criticism of government
The book is essentially a critique on the over-extension of government. Abbey makes an argument for limited government, more explicitly to limit government's ability to expropriate private land. However, Abbey still opposed the private sector from developing on natural lands, arguments which were explored in later books such as The Monkey Wrench Gang through the novel's antagonist, which put him at odds with aspects of these ideologies.
