The novel opens with a small rural community struggling for survival on the border of Lake Superior, a few years after the coming of the Plants and the collapse of civilization. The community, led by Anderson and his family, eke out an existence by siphoning sap from the Plants to irrigate their corn crop. Anderson is a conservative and religious man, harsh and uncompromising, but he has managed to keep his people alive and focused on survival. His rules include hostility to outsiders, who are routinely killed unless they are of use to the community.