The Moose Lottery is a novella written in a style of hardscrabble New England gothic. It follows logger and father Carl Riendeau as he struggles to maintain a grip on his life through a series of bad choices and disasters. After winning a coveted place in the state's seasonal moose hunt, Carl's luck turns for the worse: his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son sustains serious injuries in a car accident and faces federal charges for drug trafficking; as Carl tries to raise the money for her legal fees, fight her parents for custody of his son, and help his friend deal with layoffs and a coming recession, he determines to bring eight-year-old Luca moose hunting with him no matter the consequences.

The character-driven narrative turns on questions of trust and miscommunication in an unforgiving rural environment, exploring violence and tenderness toward both human and nonhuman life.