Nick, a 17-year-old in search of his father, gains employment with a logging company in a beautiful and mysterious virgin forest known as the Limberlost. Through his relationships with new associates and his adventures in this new and strange environment, Nick learns the value of personal honesty and integrity and discovers what defines true friendship. He finds himself torn between his affection for Angelica, who believes with her Aunt Olivia that the forest should be preserved, and loyalty to his boss, the owner of the lumber company. In the end, this city boy must choose between his own safety and the lives of those he has come to love.