WHAT IF NATURE COULD CURE HERSELF-OF US? Jim Tower's daughter develops a brain tumor following his wife's untimely death. The rancher visits his wife's grave. In a psilocybin-fueled vision, she urges him toward Big Spring. Hans Welker is the family veterinarian, German immigrant, and doting father to a miniature donkey named "Marlena." Dr. Welker suspects a local mine as the cause of the Tower family's deadly trouble. Ian Laney, Poplar Bluff Medical Center's resident neurologist, follows his mid-life crisis toward oblivion. Gambling and sex addiction pitch him into a titanic struggle between planetary preservation and global ruin. Micah Reno, descendant of 18th Century French explorer Philippe Francois Renault, has a problem: the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Micah runs the local Galena Mine and produces lead ore. Between EPA fines and operations expenses, he faces an urgent need to cut costs-but at what final price? In the secret caverns of Big Spring, an ancient entity nears the precipice of species-ending change. Humanity's fate rests in the balance of her patience.All the while, an American Chestnut tree-remnant of a lost species-guards the Tower family cemetery. It waits above Big Spring. But is it destined to preserve or destroy? ¿¿"Matlock's book is a compelling story that grabs the reader's heart right from the beginning. A great tale of people and the land." - Akiva Silver, Author of Trees of Power; Owner/Operator at "Twisted Tree Farm" http://twisted-tree.net "Pulls you in from the first few pages!" - Stacy Jo Huser (Official Title Redacted) https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/2276014/stacy-jo-huser/ "Fascinating page-turner! You won't be able to put this one down." - Zoe Dyani, Cherokee Nation https://cherokee.org