Renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni studies "what grows back” after a disturbance in the rainforest canopy. After surviving a life-threatening fall from a tree, she must turn her research question onto herself to explore the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her own life. In the process, she unearths the roots of other disturbances she faced throughout her life, as the daughter of mixed Indian-Jewish immigrant parents who prized high achievement and contribution above all else.