"I have fished a number of times in Alaska's Aniak and Kuskokwim River watersheds for the five species of Pacific salmon – Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Chum, and Pink - and the rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, and grayling that eat the eggs as the salmon spawn and the flesh after the salmon die. All Pacific salmon undergo a dramatic transformation in color and in physical shape as they approach their natal rivers to spawn, but the Chinook salmon that return to the Aniak in particular – unlike those in many other watersheds – turn from silver to deep red as they make their way to the spawning grounds. In Beset On All Sides I have tried to convey the single-mindedness with which Chinook salmon are driven to fulfill their ultimate purpose even as the trout, char, and grayling rush in to pilfer the eggs."