An epic adventure in the teeny, tiny destination of Costa Rica, meeting sloths and watching turtles nest, plus a little monkeying around between rare wildlife sightings, zip-lining and volcanic lava trails. All this to find out what makes it one of the happiest places on earth — despite, and because of, the rain..

We love to moan about it, but we'd be lost without it. So argues this lyrical tome, which examines how rain has shaped our landscape, language and national psyche.