Olympic Power, in violation of Washington State law, erected a dam on the Elwha River in 1910. Over the course of the ensuing years, it became clear that the river and its almost incredulously large salmon runs had been sacrificed for hydropower development. Such development was commonly referred to as "progress." Nonetheless, it was progress which occurred at tragic expense to the Native American, Elwha Klallam people, who relied upon the river for their sustenance.

Even after the devastating impacts to the river's fisheries and to the tribal community became known, the prevailing social myths, that hydropower was cheap, that it was clean, and that it was beneficial for everybody, continued to be perpetuated.

The film tells the story of the 90-year long struggle of the Elwha tribal community to challenge these perceptions, and eventually to lobby Congress for the removal of the dams and for the restoration of the river's ecosystem and fisheries. It is a struggle which is now producing rewards. Beginning in 2004, the two dams on the Elwha will be removed by the federal government, in the largest dam decommissioning project in the world.