A teenaged boy named Matty tries to hurry through supper preparations so he can go check on something in Forest. His guardian, a blind man named Seer, teases Matty good-naturedly about whatever it is that Matty needs to see in Forest. After supper, Seer tells Matty to light a lamp, and Matty remembers Seer saying once that Forest—which is dangerous for most people—is "just an illusion." Matty goes past the kind schoolteacher Mentor's house in the hopes of seeing Jean, Mentor's daughter, but he runs into his friend Ramon instead. Ramon invites Matty to his homeplace for supper, but Matty lies that he has a message to deliver. Lying isn't allowed in Village, but Matty needs to get into Forest alone. For most this is a dangerous proposition, but Matty can pass through Forest unharmed. Because of this, he hopes to one day receive the true name Messenger, as he can carry messages through Forest to other settlements. He finds what he's looking for: a small frog.
On his way home, Matty hears keening—crying and singing about a death—and the next day, Ramon tells Matty that Forest entangled and killed Gatherer. Ramon brags about his family's new Gaming Machine, and Matty thinks that he’d like a Gaming Machine of his own. As the boys go fishing, Leader, the leader of the village, watches over Village and sees something troubling in Forest. Later that evening, Matty tries to convince Seer that they should trade for a Gaming Machine, but Seer insists that it'd be a mistake to trade away reading or music in the evenings for a mechanical thing that dispenses candy. He tries to impress upon Matty that Ramon's parents probably sacrificed something important or valuable for the Gaming Machine, but he refuses to allow Matty to attend a Trade Mart so he can figure out how trading works.
One morning, Matty goes to Leader's homeplace so he can deliver messages. Leader's homeplace is filled with books from his old settlement, and he sees them as proof that his old settlement is changing for the better. Leader tries to ask Matty whether there are fewer fish in the river than there used to be, as people are complaining that food supplies are running low. Matty suggests that maybe it seems like there are fewer fish now because he's growing up and the world seems smaller now. He accepts the messages and later, reads the message to Seer. Both are shocked that the message says that there will be a meeting and a vote to close Village to outsiders, and that Mentor is leading the movement. Seer asks if Mentor has traded, but Matty only knows that he doesn't have a Gaming Machine.
A few days later, Matty tells Seer that Jean's dog had puppies and she'll let Matty have one. When Matty goes to visit the puppies, however, he finds Jean in distress: two of the puppies have died, and the remaining puppy and the mother are very ill. Mentor is away courting Stocktender's widow, but Matty sends Jean away to fetch herbs from Herbalist and experiments with his secret power in private. It feels like lightning in his hands and allows him to heal things with a touch. He heals both dogs and later, falls into bed exhausted. He remembers how he healed the frog on accident a few weeks ago and how painful and terrifying it was.
A group of newcomers arrives the next day. Matty and Seer join Ramon in greeting them, but a group, led by Mentor, arrives and chants that they need to close Village. Leader breaks up the tense moment and assures Mentor that they'll vote on this later. Matty notices that Mentor's large birthmark looks less pronounced, and he also looks taller and thinner.
Matty hears that Trade Mart is happening later and he vows to attend. He convinces Seer to let him go, and also assures Seer that he has nothing to trade, but Seer warns Matty that he certainly has things that people will want. After supper, Matty joins his neighbors in heading to the platform. Looking around, Matty notices that everyone seems nervous and secretive. When Trademaster arrives with only a mysterious book, Matty pays close attention. Mentor pushes others aside so he can go first and stands next to Trademaster on the platform. Trademaster asks Mentor, "trade for what," and Mentor says he wants "same as before." Watching Stocktender's widow giggle, Matty assumes the trade has to do with her. Then, Trademaster asks, "trade away what," but Mentor only whispers his answer to Trademaster. Everyone else goes through the same script. Matty tells Seer about it later that evening and says that as everyone dispersed, he saw a normally kind woman make fun of her husband for his limp. He also noticed that Mentor's birthmark is gone.
Jean sends word to Matty a week later that it's time to pick up his puppy. Mentor is away again courting Stocktender's widow, so Jean and Matty have the opportunity to speak privately. Jean admits that Mentor is trading away his "deepest self" to make Stocktender's widow love him. Matty is shocked, but reasons that this explains why Mentor wants to close Village. He wonders if he can heal Mentor with his power.
Not long after, Matty goes to Leader to deliver messages and ask him to give the puppy a true name. He tells Leader what he suspects about Mentor and about Trade Mart, and Leader names the puppy Frolic. As Matty wanders through Village over the next few days, he runs into a woman who recently arrived. She asks Matty if he's noticed her son, Vladik, and says she's worried about Village's potential closure—her other children are still at her old settlement. In the market, Matty and Jean continue to discuss Mentor's transformation, and Jean cries about Mentor's sudden disinterest in literature and poetry. At the meeting, people who traded say that they're tired of caring for others, and the vote to close Village passes. Seer realizes that this means that his daughter, Kira, only has three weeks to come. He asks Matty to go to his old village to help her come to Village and explains that both she and Leader have special gifts.
At Leader's homeplace, Leader admits that he knows Matty has a gift and tells him to not use it. Leader uses his gift to "look beyond," but Forest is "thickening" too much and he can't see through the trees to Kira. He tries to stop Matty from going, but Matty insists he must. Leader succeeds in seeing beyond and asks if Kira is beautiful. Matty isn't convinced she is; she's like a sister to him and has a twisted leg. That afternoon, Jean stops by to bid Matty goodbye. She notices that a tapestry in Seer's homeplace is twisted and snarled, and she explains that Herbalist quarantined Ramon and his sister—who have grown ill—for fear of an epidemic.
By his second day in Forest, Matty understands what Leader meant about Forest: it's darker, it smells, and it's harder to find food. He thinks about his childhood and how he first connected Kira with Seer, whom she thought was dead. As he progresses, he becomes ill until finally, he feels like Forest spits him out near Kira's cottage. She greets him warmly, but Matty knows his return trip will be his last one. As Kira gives Matty soup, he watches how she moves and decides he must fix her leg so they can move faster. When Matty brings it up, though, Kira refuses—she says she's whole as she is. She's not convinced when Matty demonstrates his gift on himself, but she does show Matty her gift. As she embroiders, her hands shimmer and she embroiders a picture of the future. It shows her and Matty walking into Forest, as well as Mentor building a wall. They decide to leave the next day. After only a few hours, Matty is glad that Kira didn't let him heal her—she's used to walking with her stick. She packed her embroidery frame and carries it on her back, and assures Matty she feels safe with him. Matty doesn't tell her that Forest doesn't feel safe. Back in Village, Leader looks beyond and tells Seer about Matty and Kira's progress, but he leaves out that Forest will destroy them. They listen to the sounds of Mentor working on the wall.
That night, Kira shows Matty her bloody feet. Matty knows that these are Warnings from Forest and stays awake to listen. The next day, Forest begins attacking Matty by dripping poisonous sap onto his arms. It's painful and makes his arms swell, and the stench from Forest starts to bother Kira. The next day, Matty admits that he doesn't know what's going on with Forest. They do their best to navigate a dangerous swamp, but emerge bleeding, muddy, and barely able to breathe. Over the next few days, Matty starts to escape his pain by hallucinating that he's floating above his body. As they stop to rest one afternoon, Matty cuts a vine that tries to wind around his ankle. Kira pulls out her embroidery supplies to use her gift and says that Leader is coming for them.
A few mornings later, Matty wakes up and is surprised that he and Kira are still alive. At this point, Leader is several days into Forest and is bloody and bruised. Matty and Kira are in a similar state; Matty's nose is bleeding, Kira can barely see, and she refuses to go on. Matty asks her to use her gift to try to meet Leader halfway and surprisingly, it works: the two are able to meet in "Beyond." They discuss that they're lost and hurt, and Leader asks Kira to tell Matty to use his gift. Matty groans and falls back when he hears this; he thinks it's too late. However, as he rolls into the mud, his fingers begin to vibrate. His entire body tightens and begins to flow into Forest, healing it. Everyone in Village begins to heal, while Mentor abandons his wall building and recites a poem. Leader and Kira feel well again, and Matty feels like he's been chosen for this. He floats above and understands what Seer meant about Forest being an illusion: it was a reflection of human fear, lies, and power. Now, it blooms as Matty dies. Leader finds Kira and tells her that though Matty wanted to be given the true name Messenger, his true name is Healer. He carries Matty's body back toward Village.
