Great and Precious Things

Great and Precious Things (2020) is a romance novel by Rebecca Yarros. After years in the military, Camden “Cam” Daniels returns to his small hometown to help care for his ailing father. While the townspeople despise Cam for his past behavior, they love his brother Xander for his dedication to the town. Cam must challenge them and Xander to help his father while also grappling with his feelings for a childhood friend, Willow Bradley. Alternating between Cam’s and Willow’s perspectives, the novel explores themes related to life choices, emotional growth, and family commitment.

This guide refers to the first paperback edition published by Entangled Publishing, LLC, in 2020.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, sexual content, substance use, and cursing.

Plot Summary

Camden “Cam” Daniels returns to his hometown of Alba, Colorado, for the first time in six years. The last time he was home, he buried his brother Sullivan, who died in action while serving in the military. Cam blames himself for his death since he gave the order that sent Sullivan’s squad into action. Cam’s father, Arthur Daniels, also blames Cam and has refused to have a relationship with him since Sullivan’s death. However, Arthur now has Alzheimer’s disease and thus is often confused about past versus present events and about the identities of those around him. He called Cam a few weeks earlier asking for help to convince Cam’s brother Alexander “Xander” Daniels (who has Arthur’s power of attorney) to let him file a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order.

When Cam arrives back in Alba, he repeatedly runs into Willow Bradley, one of his childhood best friends, who was dating Sullivan before he entered military service. Cam and Willow always harbored romantic feelings for each other yet never acted on them. They refuse to acknowledge these feelings to each other or anyone else.

Initially, Arthur refuses to let Cam help with his care. He won’t let Cam live with him, instead forcing him to stay at his uncle Cal’s house, which Cal (upon his death) left to Cam years earlier. However, Cam slowly convinces Arthur that he’s there to help him and plays him the voicemail about the DNR that Arthur doesn’t remember leaving.

Cam faces two main obstacles to obtaining his father’s DNR: Xander’s refusal to comply and the town’s judgment of Cam. When he was younger, Cam repeatedly caused issues for the town. He was accused of burning down the bunkhouse, an important monument to the town’s mine. In addition, the town’s judge, Noah Bradley (who is also Willow’s father), holds a grudge against Cam over an incident in his childhood, when Willow got stuck in the abandoned mine and broke her nose. Ultimately, Cam hopes to fight Xander’s power of attorney in court but knows that he must convince Judge Bradley—and the rest of the town—that he has changed.

Meanwhile, Willow faces her own issues in Alba. Her father disowned her sister, Charity, when she got pregnant nine years ago with her daughter, Rose. Willow was expected to marry Sullivan and go to college to study law when he returned from deployment; however, after his death, she went to college for graphic design against her father’s wishes. She has a troubled relationship with her father, and the town expects her to continue to grieve Sullivan’s death.

Cam devises a plan to convince the town to reopen the mine for the tourist season. With Willow’s help, he becomes a member of Alba’s Historical Society and convinces the town to support his plan for the mine. However, as he and Willow begin a romantic relationship, they both grow even more distant from Judge Bradley and again face the townspeople’s judgment.

As Cam and Willow grow closer, Cam struggles with his temper and his relationship with the town. In addition, he deals with his guilt over Sullivan’s death, which is exacerbated by him dating Sullivan’s former girlfriend. Slowly, Cam convinces the members of the town that he has changed and is there to help Alba grow. Willow convinces him that she always loved him and that he’s good enough for her—despite his initial insistence that his troubled past and culpability in Sullivan’s death make him unworthy of her.

After months of work on the mine and with the Historical Society, Cam convinces Judge Bradley that he has Willow’s—and the town’s—best interests at heart. Judge Bradley forgives him for what happened to Willow in the mine when they were children, acknowledging that Cam saved Willow by helping her out of the mine. When Cam and Xander’s case over their father’s medical rights comes to trial, Judge Bradley recuses himself, allowing Cam to have a fair trial.

During the trial, Xander’s ruthlessness shocks Cam. Xander brings up the fire at the bunkhouse and Cam’s role in Sullivan’s death and then puts their father on the stand and makes him look incompetent. Ultimately, Xander wins, yet the judge tries to emphasize the importance of Arthur’s right to choose regarding his own care.

On the opening day of tourist season, Cam has a section of the mine open for touring. Willow’s niece, Rose, fixates on the day when Willow got lost in the mine and talks to Arthur, who tries to show her where Willow got lost, but the location is missing from the map. Despite this, Rose goes into the mine on her own, which leads to panic when Cam, Willow, and Charity discover that she’s gone.

Arthur is adamant that he can find the location if he leads them into the mine. Because of his failing health, Cam and Willow are initially hesitant; however, Cam finally agrees, dismissing Xander’s protests.

Arthur leads Cam, Willow, Judge Bradley, and police officer Gideon “Gid” Hall into the mine to a place that isn’t on the maps. When they go opposite ways at a fork, Cam and Willow find a hidden door that doesn’t open from the inside, and Rose is trapped behind it. Willow begins to remember the day she got lost in the mine, recognizing the ledge and steep slope on the other side of the door.

As Arthur, Cam, and Willow examine the area, the ledge collapses. Cam barely grabs Arthur’s arm, while Willow runs to find Gid. As Arthur hangs from one arm, he pleads with Cam to let him go, insisting that he doesn’t want to continue to watch his own health deteriorate. When Gid arrives, Cam presents his father with a decision: grab Gid’s arm or allow himself to fall. After hesitating, Arthur allows Gid to pull him up.

As Cam and Willow leave the mine, they see spots of old blood on the inside of the door. The moment helps Willow remember what happened years before. She and several other children were playing in the mine. Xander trapped her behind the door and left with the others, and Willow fell down the slope in the dark. Her revelation enrages Cam, who goes to confront Xander.

As Xander gives an interview to the gathered townspeople and tourists, Cam pins him against the wall. After initially arguing, Xander confesses to what he did to Willow. He intended to go back and save her, making himself look like the hero. He always felt like Sullivan and Cam were more respected than he was, so Xander looked for ways to make himself seem more important to the town. He also confesses to setting fire to the bunkhouse and similarly planning to put the fire out but then allowing Cam to take the blame for the fire.

A few days later, Cam visits Sullivan’s grave. Arthur finds him there, and Cam insists on telling him the full story about Sullivan’s death. Ultimately, Arthur forgives him for the role he played. He notes that everyone makes their own choices and that Cam’s decision was one of many that led to that moment.

Afterward, Cam visits Xander, who was charged with arson and released on bail. Xander is still angry and bitter, telling Cam that he came out looking like the hero again; however, Cam realizes that Xander still doesn’t understand that looking like a hero to others means nothing. Cam informs Xander that he got genetic testing done on Xander, Sullivan, and himself to see if they have the same gene as their father that causes Alzheimer’s disease. Cam says that he, himself, does not have the gene but that Sullivan did. He gives Xander the envelope containing the results and tells him to see for himself whether he has the gene.

A few weeks later, Xander signs paperwork giving Cam power of attorney for Arthur. Arthur is finally able to sign a DNR. Meanwhile, Cam and Willow continue renovations on the mine while making long-term plans to remain in Alba. He informs her that he doesn’t have the Alzheimer’s gene that his father has, and they look forward to their life together.