Each of the flawed, fully human characters we meet in these twelve stories faces a moment of life-altering transformation. Most are newcomers to the scenic, rolling countryside of central Texas whose charms they romanticize, even as the troubles they hoped to leave behind persist.

Winner of the 2022 Texas Institute of Letters' Sergio Troncoso Award for Best First Book of Fiction Each of the flawed, fully human characters we meet in these twelve stories faces a moment of life-altering transformation. Most are newcomers to rural life whose charms they dream about, even as the troubles they hoped to leave behind persist. A young pianist struggles to keep her emotionally fragile boyfriend alive; a family flees financial scandal in Houston; a displaced New Yorker's ambivalence with guns results in two fractured families. The rich history of the German-Czech region of centralTexas, where the storie are set, anchors the experience of two young artists who make a costly decision in 1862. The silent partner in every story is the scenic, rolling landscape itself, evocative of nature in all its beauty and hardship.