Since she was a young girl, Emma Starling had lofty dreams of becoming a doctor. A natural healer, Starling's life was seemingly set from a very young age: she would go to medical school and ultimately become a successful doctor. Her life would be exceptionally successful and she would have a big impact on her family and her community.
But Emma doesn't live up to her dreams and promise. Ultimately, she has lost her way. Although she was enrolled in and spent some time in medical school, Emma ultimately dropped out of med school. Since then, she went through life rudderless. She seemingly had no purpose and no reason to live—until she talks with her father, who is dying from a brain disease that no one can truly identify. And when Emma's father asks her to take care of him, she agrees to take care of him as he enters the end of his life.
Emma's father's name is Clive. Because of his illness, Clive has been having fairly significant hallucinations. Clive has been having consistent hallucinations concerning small animals and other strange hallucinations of a naturalist who has been dead for quite a long time named Ernest Harold Baynes. It was Baynes who was well-known for letting wild animals into his house so that he could interact with them. And because of these hallucinations, Clive has gotten ideas about how he will spend his last few days.
But after she arrives home to care for her father, Emma quickly realizes that she must do a lot more than care for her father (whose disease she is still processing). She also has to contend with her past, her relationship with her family (especially her mother, who she sees as judgmental), and her brother's addiction.
One day after returning home, however, Emma learns that her lifelong friend has gone missing. She tries to enlist help from the police to find her, but they refuse because her friend is a drug addict. It is Clive who is the only one who thinks that Emma's friend is alive (even in his diminished state). He encourages Emma to pursue her friend and Emma agrees, hopeful that her father could be right. After some investigation, and after experiencing her town (which is in the throes of an opioid crisis), Emma finds her fend and ultimately resurrects her dream to become a doctor once again.
