Under the quiet, fleeting sunlight spilling through golden trees, Janet befriends Tamlin, a cursed elf boy destined to die when the last autumn leaf of Carterhaugh Forest falls. Janet, a girl with an acute fascination in zoology, and Tamlin, who can shapeshift into any living creature, find solace in each other away from the chaos of their lives. Together, they spend their final autumn in the Scottish countryside.