A man recounts his fantastical memories as a boy, trapped in his oppressive father's arboretum. He spends his time befriending the plants and animals that inhabit the elaborate jungle. Believing the boy to be weak, his father introduces challenges to toughen him: a local boy offers him cruelty, and an orphaned girl offers him love.

When his father discovers the boy has learned to love rather than dominate, he flies into a rage, vowing punishment. The boy retreats into the arboretum's furthest reaches, where reality begins to blur. What happens next changes him irrevocably.