Blending history, oral history, autobiography, and travel narrative, Bland Simpson explores the geography and biodiversity of the islands that lie in eastern North Carolina's sounds, rivers, and swamps. The fifth in a series of books by Simpson examining the natural and human history of the region, The Inner Islands presents Simpson's signature reportage on territory often bypassed by tourists and scholars alike.

In each of the fifteen chapters in the book, Simpson covers a single island or group of islands, many of which, were it not for the buffering Outer Banks, would be lost to the ebbs and flows of the Atlantic. Instead they are home to unique plant and animal species and well-established hardwood forests. Simpson traces the ongoing forces of nature and the history of these islands, including inhabitants and industries, from colonization to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and periods of economic boom and bust. Featuring historical photographs as well as original photography by Ann Cary Simpson, The Inner Islands tells the stories of some of Carolina's least-known special places.