Life with Shepherd is the only life Selah has ever known. Their self-sufficient community possesses no modern technology, and is hidden away in the woods, far from modern civilization. He is the group's guardian, teacher, and lover. Each of the many female members of the group is either his wife or daughter. Selah is pure in faith, but also dangerously headstrong. She was raised as a daughter of Shepherd, but it is only a matter of time before she also stands to become a wife. As an encounter with the authorities forces the women and Shepherd to build a new Eden further inland, Selah increasingly doubts her faith, and has strange, bloody visions. The onset of puberty brings with it harsh new rituals, and her first shocking glimpse of what happens to Shepherd's women as they age.