The island sits in the center of a small lake in rural northern Wisconsin.

It is the other central character in the novel: "Wil Neuton discovered the island, or was discovered by it—he was never sure which."

The prologue describes the origin of the island. Sweeping across geological time, the description explains how a glacier scooped out a lake but left a U-shaped clump of earth and rocks almost dead center. Situated on the verge of the great woods stretching northward, the lake never feels the impact of civilization. Tourists never find the lake, named for the useless sucker fish and not even identified on local maps.

The island's thin top soil supports some scruffy trees and timothy grass.

The right and left arms of land jut out protectively to form a bay, with a sandy beach to the left and a jetty of rock to...