In the heat and smoke of a California autumn, the mother of a kidnapped girl finds unexpected guidance from a chatty young crow she names Veronica, who leads her to abandon her self-imposed isolation and seek hope despite her grief-filled limbo.

When a crow swoops down on a smoky August afternoon and starts speaking with her, mythology professor Catherine Moss assumes someone is playing a joke. Stuck in the anger stage of grief ever since the disappearance of her daughter, Sierra, Catherine does not tolerate tricksters easily. But she does suffer from face blindness, which renders her unable to recognize even familiar people. Crows excel in facial recognition.

Soon this crow—whom Catherine dubs Veronica—is serving as her support animal, perching on her shoulder to whisper the names of students and colleagues in her ear. She also introduces Catherine to her other human friend, an unhoused young artist named Mari. Together, the two lead Catherine to confront her deepest fear: not that Sierra is dead, but that her daughter may one day return radically changed and emotionally damaged.

Set amid the yellowed skies and swirling ash of a California city during fire season, Catherine Over Water addresses the near-unbearable task of dwelling in limbo.