David Douglas was the premier botanical explorer in the Pacific Northwest and throughout other areas of western North America in the 19th century. Douglas' discoveries include hundreds of western plants, most notably the iconic Douglas Fir. "The Collector" tracks Douglas' fascinating history, from his humble birth in Scotland in 1799 to his botanical training under the famed William Jackson Hooker, and details his adventures in North America discovering "exotic" new plants for the English and European market. In telling Douglas' story, Nisbet evokes a lost world of early exploration, pristine nature, ambition, and cultural and class conflict with surprisingly modern resonances.