This book follows the arc of an upland hunter's life from childhood into old age. Each chapter emphasizes the larger life lessons that hunting teaches a person as they learn and then practice the sport. A large portion of the book centers on the way upland hunting integrates wing shooting and dog work into a coherent whole that, when it works well, can approach art.

The book consists a Preface, 34 stories organized into seven sections (Growing Up, Shotguns, Reloading and the Range, Dogs, Birds, The Hunt, and Dotage), and a Postface.