Adapted by Patrick Ness from his book based on an idea by his late author friend Siobhan Dowd, it's the story of a young boy named Conor O'Malley, who is having a tough time. Plagued by nightmares, he's being bullied in school and his mother (Felicity Jones) is dying of cancer, which forces Conor to move in with his grandmother (Sigourney Weaver), who has very strict rules that just make things tougher for the lad. One night at exactly 12:07 AM, the giant tree that overlooks a distant church cemetery comes to life and offers Conor three stories in exchange for one of his own. Conor is not easily convinced, and understandably has other things on his mind.