Dr Thomas McMahon, a self-assured and ambitious Australian environmentalist, journeys into the Philippines, intending to 'save' the tribal peoples of Mindanao and their mountain environment from the exploitation of Horizon Mining Corporation (HMC). Instead, the country changes him in ways that he never thought possible. As a political pragmatist who campaigns on climate change and sustainable development, Tom becomes enmeshed in a network of green militant insurgents who see him and his campaign as part of the problem. Tom discovers that people are the primary threatened species - not birds, pandas or whales.