Living as a scavenger, Rachel inhabits a ruined city half destroyed by drought and conflict, littered with discarded experiments from the biotech firm called the Company. Rachel ekes out an existence in a run-down sanctuary she shares with her partner, Wick, who deals his own homegrown psychoactive biotech. In this follow-up to Jeff VanderMeer's Nebula Award winning Southern Reach Trilogy, Rachel finds a mysterious green lump named Borne and takes him home. Against her instincts?and definitely against Wick's wishes?Rachel keeps Borne. Growing into an intricate lifeform, Borne will help Rachel see beauty in the world, but as he gains in power he will show her the full extent of her own weakness and duplicity.