In the shadows of the towering redwoods at the University of California, Santa Cruz, college freshman Jules leads an eclectic group of fellow students known as the Sun-Greeters on a quest to solve a campus riddle. Their mission? Rebuild Elfland, a cherished campus hangout from yesteryear. But tragedy strikes when Jules falls to her death from Tree 9, a legendary 150-foot Douglas Fir, sending the quest into a haunting spiral.

As Jules finds herself stuck in the liminal space between life and afterlife, she watches her friends grapple with the aftermath of her death and navigate their own paths in a world on the brink of war over oil. The group splinters as one joins the Navy, another becomes an activist, and all face the challenges of shifting alliances.

The story follows each member of the Sun-Greeters as they confront issues of romance, sexual identity, unplanned pregnancy, addiction, radical activism, and the search for purpose. When one of their own is arrested, the group must set aside their differences and return to the quest Jules set in motion. Along the way, they discover the answer to the campus riddle is more personal-and elusive-than they ever imagined.