This tale of a young man's first summer as a commercial salmon fisherman on the BC coast, written in 1948 by the renowned fisherman and outdoor adventure writer Roderick Haig-Brown, has become a modern classic. Don Morgan, the seventeen-year-old hero of Haig-Brown's Starbuck Valley Winter, has made enough money trapping on northern Vancouver Island to realize his dream: he has bought himself a 32-foot west coast salmon troller, Mallard. Now he is free to fish the entire length of the BC coast from the Fraser River to Prince Rupert. In early summer, with his pal Tubby Miller, he sets off on his great adventure, which does not unfold quite as he had pictured it. Don has a lot to learn - not just about commercial fishing, but about growing up. For one thing, he has borrowed money to help with a friend's hospital bills and he must repay the loan by the end of the summer. The fishing is so poor that Don could lose his beloved boat before the first season is over. Then he quarrels with Tubby and parts company with him. Some unscrupulous fishermen try to persuade him to break the law and he ends up in trouble. But in the end, Don's own good sense prevails, his real friends come through, and he finds a way to overcome his troubles - running into some real-life adventure in the process.