The novel opens with a small rural community struggling for survival on the border of Lake Superior, a few years after the coming of the Plants and the collapse of civilization.

The community, led by Anderson and his family, eke out an existence by siphoning sap from the Plants to irrigate their corn crop.

Fleeing the machines, the group runs afoul of Anderson's community, who kill all but two of their number: Jeremiah Orville, a mining engineer, and Alice Nemerov, a nurse.

Deep underground, they discover the "fruit" of the plants is housed in the root system: a nutritious pulp that sustains the community for weeks.

Anderson, who lost his wife Lady when fleeing, becomes upset by the increasing indolence of his people, as his harsh rules are no longer required for survival.

In the aftermath, Jeremiah goes in search of Blossom, planning to kill her and complete his revenge, but when he finds her, he experiences a change of heart and falls in love.

Neil, Jeremiah, Blossom, and Buddy try to find their way back together, but the Plants' tunnel network suddenly floods with sap, and they become lost and exhausted.

The pair, starving and mismatched in age, are portrayed as a distorted mirror image of the biblical Adam and Eve and herald the end of humanity instead of the beginning.

The Greek myth of the lotus-eaters is made reference to when some of the characters become complacent with eating the fruit pulp of the plant which appears to have a mildly narcotic effect.

[2] Brian W. Aldiss singled it out for praise in a long review in SF Impulse, noting in particular that Disch's treatment of the Plants as "majestic indeed .