David Grann follows Percy Fawcett on the route of his final journey into the Amazon. Fawcett, one of the world's most famous explorers, whose greatest contribution to the world was to map the South American continent on foot in a time when the western society had no reliable maps of the area.

Most of Fawcett's trips were funded by the Royal Geographic Society. He was a foot soldier exploring the Amazon, studying wild life, the locals and recording everything he saw. He was no scientist but had a sharp intellect which saved his life on numerous occasions. He had survived many dangers, so many, that perhaps he and others began to think that he was invincible. After about ten expeditions into the jungle the first world war broke out and Fawcett spent time on the front in Europe.

At the front Fawcett continued to dream about the Amazon, its locals and the possibility of hidden treasures. He had become convinced that the Amazon hid a great secret. A large city seen first by the first Spanish explorers, but had since disappeared from sight. Clues led Fawcett back to the jungle in search for what he called the City Z.

Z was to be one of the greatest discoveries in the world. The large city of the Amazon, proof that an amazing civilization has once lived and and florished where nature had since then taken over. Undescribable riches. His travel companions were two people he trusted with his life, his son Jack and his son's friend Raleigh. They set out in 1925 in search for the city.

A few messages were sent back to civilization. But then they stopped. It was nothing unusual that exporers spent a year without being heard from, but this time one year passed, then two, then three.

Were they dead? Had they found Z? Had they found Z and then stayed there? Rumors flourished in the media. At the time of his last trip Fawcett had become something of a celebrity and the world followed his trip from the first day.

Over the years many groups have gone into the Amazon to find Fawcett, but so far no one has found a trace of them. It is estimated that as many as 100 people have been lost in the search for Fawcett and his companions.

David Grann traces Fawcett in his diaries, through research and in the jungle. It is an amazing story, Percy Fawcett, possibly the last real English explorer. Disappeared in the Amazon.