The scarcely populated town of Sweetland is in slow decline when the mainland government offers each islander a generous resettlement package. The sole stipulation is that everyone must leave. But enigmatic Moses Sweetland refuses. Motivated by a sense of history, haunted by mistakes of his youth and concerned that his autistic nephew Jesse will wilt on the mainland, Moses holds his ground despite violent opposition from other islanders.

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As he manages a diminishing food supply and battles the ravages of the weather, the border between the natural world and the supernatural world blur and he finds himself moved to acts of increasing desperation, only to be stymied again and again by the ruins of memory and the fierce will of nature.