A forty-year-old pregnant woman working scientifically as a biologist conducts unusual experiments in her home laboratory. The plants she grows feel physical pain and fear. One day a falling tree kills a man. The incident repeats itself and people begin to say that trees want to kill. The heroine's husband, driven by resentful ambition, directs all his envy at the object of his wife's research. He prompts the city authorities to cut down all the "decayed trees" in the area in order to guard against future mishaps. The execution triggers a reaction from the forces of nature....