After travelling through the Canadian prairies in 1857 and 1858, British adventurer John Palliser deemed a large portion of the region to be a near desert and unfit for agriculture. That reportedly disadvantaged area became known famously as Palliser's Triangle. Defying Palliser presents interviews with farmers and ranchers from southwest Saskatchewan and southeast Alberta, residents in the Palliser Triangle telling in their own words how they have managed to defy Palliser's prediction. Set in the context of the latest research on adaptive capacity and climate change, these are stories of self reliance, inventiveness and community solidarity shared by the remarkably resilient people who have adapted and survived in the driest, most drought prone climate on the Canadian Prairies.