Everyone in Edgewood believes their annual tithes at the fall festival are what purchase Edgewood's safety, but as Faye and her husband prepare to take over as town stewards-a long tradition carried out by her family for generations-they learn the terrible truth: in order to guarantee the town's safety, the forest demands an unthinkable sacrifice. In the midst of everything, Faye is secretly battling debilitating postpartum anxiety that makes her...

Fei explores the value of a human life: from the spreadsheets wielded by cost-cutting executives to the insidious notions of risk surrounding modern pregnancy; from the wondrous history of medical innovation in the care of premature infants to contemporary analyses of what their lives are worth; and finally, to the depths of her own struggle to make sense of her daughter's arrival in the world.