The Overstory

At dawn, a man lays on his back in the forest. He worries that “nothing will be the same” (325), but the sound of the plants reassures him that his presence makes a difference. The man must get to work.

Olivia’s body is placed into the fire, “sending it into forever” (327). Her companions get in the van and drive away; Nick and Adam threaten each other, Mimi drives, and Douggie advocates surrender. They go their separate ways: Nick camps in the devastated redwood forest and will not sleep well for 20 years; Mimi and Douggie get rid of the van and she insists they split up to avoid detection; Olivia’s death is blamed on a deranged killer; Adam finishes his thesis and becomes a respected figure in his field. Nick is haunted by Olivia’s death and stays in a cabin near the devastated forest. Rains cause a landslide, and Nick saves his neighbors as their cabins are destroyed. Douggie cannot leave Mimi alone as he is desperate to tell her about a dream in which Olivia tells him to wait and see. Mimi tells him to stay away from her forever. She sells her house and, using the huge profits from the sale of her father’s treasures, takes on a new identity.