A desperate fugitive on the run in the drought-ravaged wildlands of the Big Sur Coast fakes his way into a remote Zen monastery where playing monk is his only hope for staying free. Constant friction with the idiosyncratic monastics and the enigmatic female Zen Master force him to confront what he's really running from and what freedom truly means. His unexpected self-discovery is deeply intertwined with the mystery that landed him there and with the embattled wilderness he loves. More than just a page-turning story set in a secret world, this book is an offering of ancient Zen wisdom and compassion to a generation plagued by political polarization and at the mercy of ever more destructive climate chaos.