Venturing outside Crystal Fork, Avery risks execution. LandGods claim to have cleansed The Plague and The Poison from areas within narrow borders, and parents have indoctrinated generations of children with the myth. Few question its veracity; doing so invites punishment ranging from ridicule to death. Although Vertical Transmission of beliefs from parent to child has kept LandGods in power for seven centuries, they continually demand greater share of diminishing harvests. Tenant farmers go hungry while LandGods luxuriate.

On the threshold of adulthood, friends Justin and Lord Sulmé's daughter, M'ariana, follow Avery and join the exploration of a library exposed within a sinkhole. They discover a vanished civilization that was far more advanced than their own. While the three friends are uncovering horrifying truths about their community's origins, Lord Sulmé banishes Avery and arranges M'ariana's marriage. Instead, she and Justin join Avery in exile and begin their quest for survival.