Years of drought have given the United States a terrible thirst and turned water into blue gold. A powerful agrichemical magnate and corporate visionary, William Greele, puts a consortium together to pipe water down from northern Quebec. Politicians and federal security agencies ride shotgun for him at home, while in Quebec his path is - and covered - by a brilliant, existentially torn deputy minister. Stealth and deception are crucial to the project's success. But Malcolm Macpherson, a Seattle aerospace executive and conservationist, finds out about the pipeline. Appalled, he appeals to rebel-girl Claire Davidowicz, director of eco-Justice USA to stop it. Soon they've enlisted a Quebec law professor, a feisty British journalist, three rogue policemen, a reluctant eco-terrorist, and a maverick Vermont governor. It's a heart-pounding, deadly race as they desperately try to figure out how to save the continent - and their own lives - before it's too late. When water scarcity and water wars have become menacing realities, Water Inc. is and exquisitely timed political thriller. Ranging across the US, into the cities and beautiful wilderness of Quebec, and reaching as far as Mexico, Lisbon, and Brussels, it's a tale of greed, heroism, clashing loyalties, love, and mortal risk.

Varda Burstyn is an award-winning author who has written for film, television, radio and scholarly publications. She is a life-long environmentalist who has lived in Israel, the United States and France, and now divides her time between Toronto and southern Quebec. This is her first novel.

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