Gnarled Bones and Other Stories explores five tales of loss, fear, and guilt where the past leaves its shadow on the present and future.

The son of a wealthy family falls into the hands of a charismatic older man obsessed with power and leadership during a summer in the resort town of Waxwood, California.

A woman mourning the death of her father is drawn into the lives of her eccentric and embittered neighbors.

A young woman must cope with her aunt’s mental deterioration during a summer vacation in Waxwood, California.

When an odd little woman in a wheelchair shows up at the funeral of aristocratic Penelope Alderidice and begins spurting forth details about her life her granddaughter Vivian never knew, Vivian goes in search of her grandmother’s past, unearthing family secrets and scandals kept hidden for forty years.