Two boys, Jonathan and Christopher, live in the southern Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. These mountains are among the oldest on Earth and the highest can reach over 6,000 feet in elevation. Many streams and rivers are born in these mountains. One day while exploring near a stream they discover a type of salamander they had never seen before. The next day they take the salamander to a biologist who studies the health of rivers and streams in Great Smoky Mountains National park, and there begins their adventure learning about salamanders and their habitats.