On a daily basis, this good-hearted ranching community struggled to beat back the forces of politics, economics, and nature that challenged its way of life, but the rapid desertification of once-prime cattle country called for unprecedented action: the Whittens and their neighbors needed to find alternative, even radical measures to stop the coming desert.

An extraordinary and international cast of characters brought both aid and aggravation to the process, among them Allan Savory, the Rhodesian guru of holistic resource management; Maurice Strong, a Canadian billionaire interested in water rights; and Devraj Sharma, a Hindu mathematician who applied logic to the ranchers' efforts.