Surveyor and engineer Jake Periman travels to the Ozarks in 1911 to work on a project to dam the James River. He becomes intimately involved with the people and natural wonders of this wild area. Jake wrestles with the contradictions of his responsibility and his growing appreciation of the untamed river. Sabotage and a mysterious death complicate Jake’s work and his involvement with the hill people.
Virgin Bluff gives a detailed portrayal of life in the White River valley a hundred years ago and the clash between progress and the old mountain ways.