Fourteen-year-old Samantha spends her days exploring the shallow reef behind her island home. As rising seas threaten her world, scientists deploy genetically modified corals to restore the reefs and protect the coastline. But no one anticipates the reefs will become a hotbed of rapid evolution?until they do. One day, Samantha is stunned when an octopus drifts off a rock in her lagoon, only to begin arranging coral pieces on the sand in a deliberate pattern. It's clear he's trying to communicate. How Samantha responds could hold the key to the future of life on Earth.