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 years, from the happy days of her youth, a time of horse-drawn carriages, to the darkest moments of her life. But just as Ethan starts to settle and make peace with his new circumstances, he becomes shockingly aware of a soul-crushing deception in his life, a deception hidden away for years like the mummified body down in Zelma Green's cellar. As terrible secrets unfold, Ethan faces a decision: does he run, or does he stand and face his fears head on?