This book is a vivid and exciting travel memoir as well as a detailed scientific field journal covering biology, geology, and anthropology that demonstrates the author’s keen powers of observation, written at a time when Western Europeans were still discovering and exploring much of the rest of the world. The author's five-year journey took him from the coasts of South America, Australia, and Africa to the South Pacific islands, during which he collected and documented the natural history of these areas. The voyage and the specimens he brought back would later form the basis for his famous theory of evolution.

Set in a remote city on the Parana River in Argentina, the novel follows the story of a British honorary consul who is mistakenly kidnapped by revolutionaries who intended to kidnap the American ambassador. As the consul battles alcoholism and depression, his young wife embarks on an affair with a local doctor, who is drawn into the political drama as he attempts to negotiate the consul's release. The book explores themes of love, political unrest, and moral ambiguity.

In this travelogue, the author embarks on a journey through the remote and enigmatic region of Patagonia, located at the southern tip of South America. Blending history, legend, and personal anecdotes, the narrative weaves through the diverse landscapes and cultures of the area, as the author encounters a cast of intriguing characters, from outlaws to settlers, all while searching for traces of its storied past. The book is as much an exploration of the author's wanderlust and love for adventure as it is a portrait of the rugged, windswept terrain and the resilient spirit of the Patagonian people.