A book about the people, boats, and wildlife on the Irish waterways told from the perspective of a woman on a journey through rivers and canals, and an apprenticeship in the ways of boating. When Nicki Griffin started boating in 2000, the inland waterways were largely occupied by older family boats pottering about.

There were few of the big cruisers, the gin palaces', but this was all to change. With the boom and bust as a backdrop, this book highlights and explores the resulting changes in the character and uses of the waterways.