Julie Lawson

Eleven-year-old Sam's first visit to the remote west coast of Vancouver Island is nothing like she'd expected.

Her older cousins tease "the city kid" mercilessly when they're not ignoring her altogether. She often finds herself left to her own devices. Still, the woods and beaches around Brackenwood Point offer plenty of room to explore. Then, one day, Sam comes face-to-face with a wild cougar and her two cubs, and her summer