This book follows in the tradition of writings from Henry David Thoreau, Terry O'Connor and J.A. Baker, with John Lane using the red-shouldered hawks that live in his neighborhood to explore the concept of 'commensalism,' the idea that two species can live near each other without harming or benefitting the other. John journals about his neighborhood hawks for a year, documenting their lives and contemplating the relationship between animals and humans when they live in such close proximity.