Searching for wildflowers near the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevadas, best friends, Stephanie and Adriana, are startled when suddenly confronted by a cougar.

Word of the sighting spreads like wildfire throughout the valley. Feeling the animal rights advocates' solutions are too soft, many outraged ranchers quickly form a hunter's coalition.

Out of the chaos that erupts, Cobra Stevens, an attractive wildlife biologist of mixed Pauite and European heritage, is called in and given the seemingly insurmountable task of restoring peace between the two groups.

Tragedy strikes. This only makes the vigilantes led by Adriana's dad, Earl Kramer, more determined to rid their Valley of all cougars. Cobra Stevens is clearly running out of time. And what of the cougars? Will they be the ultimate losers in this deadly battle?

Tinnemaha Creek is a thought-provoking tale of how wildlife vs. human rights collide in our contemporary lives.

My love of animals has been one of life-long interest. When I was a youngster and first saw a caged lion pacing back and forth in a tiny cell at the Detroit Zoo, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't let go of that image. Even today, I run because a sense of unrestricted movement connects me to the freedom which a wild animal needs to survive.

For the novel Tinnemaha Creek, I camped, hiked, and studied the Eastern Sierras, consulted with Native Americans, farmers, ranchers, and wildlife specialists to raise my awareness of the dilemma which confronts both humans and wildlife struggling for survival in that beautiful tumultuous slice of the American West.

I wrote the novel because I wanted to do something about that crisis.

Nick Taddeo