When she awakes, she feels changed, and is soon compelled to leave her school and her life and follow the voices westward. While she is lingering between death and life, she feels presences calling to her. Olivia is a cynical college student who loves to party when she is accidentally electrocuted by touching a light socket with her wet hand while high. This is when fate-or, the machinations of the trees themselves, which at times seem to communicate with the characters-brings him into contact with Olivia Vandergriff. His insurance money is gone and he is preparing to vacate the premises, unsure of where to go next. Nicholas Hoel is a restless, struggling artist living on the Hoel farm, which was started by his ancestor centuries ago. The grave danger that the rapacious and capricious cutting down of trees presents is the main catalyst for action for most of these characters, while others engage with the natural world in more peripheral, albeit still profound, ways.

The stories of nine people-Nicholas Hoel, Olivia Vandergriff, Ray Brinkman, Dorothy Cazaly, Neelay Mehta, Patricia Westerford, Douglas Pavlicek, Mimi Ma, and Adam Appich-are woven together not just with each others', but with those of the trees that they come to see as crucial conduits to the longevity, health, and sustainability of the entire planet.

The overstory richard powers