We meet Alma Boyd Takesue, a National Park Service biologist who lives on the Channel Islands. Boyle tells us that Takesue believes that only by eliminating rats and feral pigs which are invasive species there, can the ecologists and environmentalists prevent unnecessary extinctions. Takesue believes human activity has disrupted the balance of nature, and human action will be necessary to make it right again.
Then Boyle discusses another point of view, that of Dave LaJoy. He feels that all animal life is inherently valuable, and he feels that nature has not lost its balance, but rather, is changing, and therefore, he says Takesue is a pig killer. He feels her motion to kill entire animal populations is unethical. When Alma's office is ransacked, and her car spray-painted, she suspects LaJoy.
We learn in flashbacks that Alma's grandmother was Beverly Boyd, a shipwreck survivor. Her grandmother is her main authority figure, but her grandmother disapproves of her relationship. When her boyfriend gets her pregnant, urging her to abort the baby, she admits to herself that she has not considered the problem of human population enough. She is disturbed to learn about herself that she has occasionally viewed humans as an invasive species. In a brief flashback, we also learn about Anise, Dave's girlfriend whose difficult family life leads her to be terroristic with Alma for personal reasons.
