Mary Joy Breton provides absorbing sketches of more than forty women activists in the Americas, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, and Asia, recounting the special ways in which each stepped out of her traditional role and dedicated her life to saving the planet.

Breton interweaves her accounts with narrative on the ecological hazards that drove these women to spearhead various environmental campaigns, examining why and how they challenged, and often defeated, the power structures of government and industry. Their courageous efforts illuminate the crucial role of women in the environmental movement and provide inspiration for a new generation of activists.