Brian Haynes, the third-generation owner of a successful realty company, who married the owner of an even more successful lumber company, remembers back to one pivotal summer during his childhood that changed his perspective on life forever. Following a frightening premonition from a mysterious neighbor, Brian, believing he has inadvertently contributed to the death of his grandmother's housekeeper, runs away from home with his best friend, Charlie. Aided by their friend Stephanie, the two friends find refuge with an old man living a hermit's life on a nearby knob. The old man teaches the...

Thirteen-year-old Ethan Brook is new to Rocky Creek, Kentucky, the town first introduced in the Southern Gothic novel Chips of Red Paint. Separated from his friends and mourning the tragic loss of his father, he feels out of place, isolated from all the things he has ever known and loved. But his outlook on life begins to change one day when he takes a summer job working for the mysterious and eccentric Zelma Green. With nearly a century between them, he finds in her an unlikely kindred spirit. His new friend loves to tell stories about her life, taking him on a journey spanning over eighty...