Gee Evars stumbles into Rosebud Falls, exhausted and dehydrated, but snaps into action to save a drowning toddler. Injured, Gee is taken to the hospital, where he discovers he has lost his memory and his wallet. His identity uncertain, Gee sets about making Rosebud Falls his home.
He becomes a local hero, falling for investigative reporter Karen Weisman, who continues to search for his identity as he seems always to be where he is needed just now. While walking through the mystical forest--the town's centerpiece and primary economic resource--he eats one of the poisonous nuts and falls into a hallucinatory trance. When he awakens, he discovers what it means to be both the City's Champion and Defender of the Forest.