Drawn in by the haunting specter of the Florida panther, photographer Carlton Ward and a coalition of biologists, ranchers, conservationists, and Indigenous Peoples unite on the front lines of an accelerating battle between forces of renewal and destruction that have pushed the Everglades to the brink of ecological collapse.

In a struggle resonating across the globe, the panther's habitat has become an island. Its lush territory transformed into subdivisions. A paradise - vanishing into thin air. Perched on the edge of extinction, the panther is an emblem of our once connected world. A vision of what could be again. Or else, a harbinger of what could befall our planet, if the 'Path of the Panther' becomes a dead end. This odyssey of hope and heartbreak is the culmination of more than five years in the field, 500,000 still images, and over 800 hours of ultra-high-definition camera trap footage. Against all odds, wild panthers have been stunningly captured in their native ecosystem, as they've never been filmed before.