"Dear Lord above can't you see I'm crying...take me to paradise." Song lyrics

Jake Hamrick is 19 and has a fascination with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. He meets a girl named Robin and after showing her his copy of Audubon's "Birds in America," he tells her he wants to travel to Louisiana to The Big Woods, where the woodpecker was last seen. Robin is as obsessed as Jake and tells him that she wants to join him.

The couple find a bare home to rent and enter the bayou to search for the bird. After searching without results, Robin dresses up as a bird to attract the Woodpecker. She covers herself with white mud, puts crow feathers on a cloak and wears that, then she dyes her hair bright red. Jake calls her "The Lord God Bird" the nickname for the Woodpecker.

Deep in the bayou, they are discovered by hunters and an incident occurs. The hunters return to pursue the couple deeper into the bayou where an elderly black man named Robert, hides and helps them.

The story is told with picturesque style. It is obvious that the author has written poetry as the words flow beautifully, i.e. "The scent of the lilac bush permeated the air and it was a perfume that women wore and drew hummingbirds."

The author seems to be telling his readers about a time gone by and how humans destroy the beauty of nature but a few people search out and attempt to preserve that beauty. A very timely story in view of the Gulf oil spill and the damage that it is causing to the Louisiana coastal areas.