This work provides a concise synthesis of the key insights and analysis of the book. It is an independent summary, not the original book, and has no affiliation with or endorsement from the original publication. Created for readers who want a clear, thought-provoking overview, it distills the central themes and ideas while preserving the depth and relevance of the work.
In a remote Colorado town in the 1940s, seventeen-year-old Victoria Nash shoulders the burden of her family’s farm after tragedy strips her of a mother, aunt, and cousin. Her life changes when she encounters Wil, a drifter whose Indigenous identity marks him as an outsider in a prejudiced community. Their forbidden love sets off a chain of choices that will haunt Victoria for decades—through the violence that takes Wil’s life, the secret child she must abandon, and the forced flooding of her hometown when the valley is dammed to build a reservoir. With only her orchard of peach trees and her enduring will, Victoria must learn to survive loss, displacement, and silence. Flowing like the river itself, her story is about resilience, memory, and the quiet strength of choosing to live on despite everything taken away.
