Twelve-year-old Lonny Quicke is a lifeling. He has the power to heal any living creature and bring it back from the dead. But he pays a price for this gift--by lengthening the creature's life, he shortens his own. So Lonny has to be careful, has to stay hidden in the forest. Because if people knew what he could do, Lonny would be left with no life at all. Seeking work to support their family, Lonny and his younger brother finally leave their hidden forest home and venture into the nearby town of Farstoke, where Lonny discovers that, at first glance, the people of Farstoke are not cruel and selfish. As he debates revealing his secret ability, he wonders whether his new friends are really as kind as they seem.