It has been ten years since the Merging, since the Woods began taking over the world, since ghosts returned to haunt their loved ones. Liz Raleigh has hidden in the New England wilderness with Hank, his daughter, Evie, and their small group, trying to eke out a small but normal life. Though Liz longs to forget the time she spent attached to her best friend and lover, Brody's ghost, she finds herself pursued by a shadow of his former self and dreams of a life they could have lived together had he not died.

The Woods and the wolves that live inside them continue to threaten the group's existence, looming closer every day. Liz feels drawn to them, to the feeling that deep inside the trees is a way to end the reign the Woods have over the world. What's worse is that they seem different inside, darker and emptier than when she visited them years before.

Hope comes in the discovery of a self-sustained community, Onyx River: a place run by wind and solar power where other colonies have supposedly fled to with the opportunity to live life the way they used to. Upon arrival, however, they find the place abandoned and, after tragedy strikes, they realize this place might not be as promising as they once believed.

Both Liz and Evie will face not only their worst fears but the ones they couldn't even imagine were lurking in the woodland oblivion.