Genre

Synopsis

Ten-year-old Emery plays along the Colorado River bank. Her Aunt Elza sits nearby, soaking her feet in the cool water. Emery runs to her aunt, fascinated by a small Tamarisk Beetle that has landed on her hand. 

Fast forward twenty-five years, a now 35-year-old Emery drives her Aunt’s two-tone Ford truck down a desert highway. It’s lonely, and hers is the only vehicle for miles. She’s heading to Glen Canyon Dam, a decaying relic of a bygone era. The once-mighty structure, now covered in graffiti and “closed” signs, looms before her. Despite the dystopian surroundings, the Colorado River continues its relentless flow below, carving through the canyon. Emery, now a botanist working for the federal government, feels the weight of the journey ahead.

Her destination is Lee’s Ferry, the launch point for a seven-day river expedition through the Grand Canyon. Waiting for her are Noah, a geologist turned company man, and Floyd, the CEO of a powerful hydroelectric company. They’re pushing for a development project that could drastically alter the river and the land. Sent by the federal government to monitor their project, Emery joins them along with two seasoned river guides, Captain Jordan and his first mate Kendall. 

As they descend, the magnitude of the landscape and the sweltering heat test them. Emery quietly observes Noah and Floyd while conducting her own research, particularly focusing on an invasive plant species, the Tamarisk. The trip takes a turn when they lose their water purifier to the swift currents, and tensions escalate as Emery uncovers the true scale of the developers’ projects. 

By the time they reach Phantom Ranch, the halfway point, they’re hoping for a break – a bed to sleep in and freshwater. Instead, they find an abandoned post and a contaminated well. Floyd, overwhelmed by the heat and dismissive of the canyon’s grandeur, demands that Kendall escort him out via Bright Angel Trail, leaving Emery, Jordan, and Noah to continue downstream. 

Noah attempts to sway Emery, hoping she will sign off on the project. But Emery discovers a crucial discrepancy in the Tamarisk and its bio-control agent, the Tamarisk Beetle’s patterning that could shift the balance of the river. When they stop at Havasu to collect more data at Noah’s insistence, Noah disappears up a side canyon where he meets a man displeased with him for trespassing on Native land. As the sun sets, Jordan searches for Noah, leaving Emery alone in the canyon, uncertain of what the night will bring.