When his father dies, English professor Jack Lamb embarks on a search for truth surrounding the disappearance of his mother thirty three years ago, grappling with a past he thought he knew, and a future that is slowly spiraling out of his control in the form of a failed marriage and a troubled sister. A series of seemingly unrelated events-the discovery of an old photograph, a chance encounter with a down-to-earth woman named Faye, and blind determination-propel Lamb through the creative, daunting landscape of his anxiety and the arresting wilderness of Devil's Elbow, Missouri, where he will come face to face with the flimsy psychological foundation upon which he has built his life. As this foundation begins to crumble, Lamb immerses himself in a desperate quest to piece together his past. What he finds will change everything.