My cracked K-Mart wristwatch read 1:18 am. Eleven-year-old Andy McKee had learned to survive his mama's neglect. Stay small, stay quiet, stay awake... and "Do not let Mrs. Kennedy catch you on them stairs, you hear me?" But when a vicious attack leaves him broken and alone, the world swoops in to save him. Sent him off to the damn Grimm Road to live with the Cooper's. A family with more than enough trouble of their own. To a road where only the dead and dying belong. Then Auntie Ree offers him the world. Everything a boy could want: A mother's love. Safety. Belonging. No longer the no-account bastard from the wrong end of town. And all he has to do? Sign his name in her book. In this Southern Gothic tale, Andy must navigate the bargains of a small town trapped in the clutches of one sharp ol' coffee shop owner, and discover that some prices are paid by the people you love.