Biography of Dr. Paul Spong and his studies of the intelligence of whales. What begins as a loving account of researcher Paul Spong's inquiries into the intelligence of the killer whale during which time Spong made many startling discoveries while observing captive orcas at the University of British Columbia. The orca, generally considered to be a vicious killer, was, Spong discovered, gentle, playful, social, sensitive, and perceptive. Spong became obsessed with finding the secrets of the whale's intelligence, to the point of being fired by the university for his outspokenness. Undeterred, he took to studying the animal in the wild.