After the sudden death of her husband, Dawn must face her own mourning yet still care for her four children. Her only daughter, 8-year-old Simone, seems to take the loss the hardest of all. Simone shares a special secret with her mother: her father whispers to her through the leaves of the magnificient tree next to their home. Convinced he's come back to protect the family, Simone spends more and more time up in the tree, speaking with her father. Soon, Dawn herself becomes mesmerized by the tree's commanding presence. When Dawn becomes more intimate with George, her new employer, the bond between mother and daughter is threatened. With branches infiltrating the house and roots destroying the foundations, the tree seems to be siding with Simone. Fearful the tree is in danger of being cut down, she protests by setting up house high up in the branches. But Dawn refuses to let the tree take control of her family.