Lily of the Valley of the Drums revolves around a girl named Lily Petrova. As the daughter of an oil rig worker, Lily experiences an unhappy childhood living adjacent to an oil rig, where the constant smell of petrol often makes her ill and drives her friends away. The title sequence emphasizes the pivotal moment when Lily’s life is disrupted: after a breakdown following an argument with her father, she supposedly drowns in an overflowing creek during a rain storm. With her teddy bear left behind, her father fears the worst after a prolonged and fruitless search. Unbeknownst to him, Lily has actually survived and has grown up to become the leader of a dystopian world dominated by petrol! The work juxtaposes various themes such as childhood innocence versus loss of innocence, life versus death, and environmental care versus environmental ruin. Additionally, the title references the Valley of the Drums, known as one of the most infamous Superfund sites.