A 2024 Pushcart Prize Nominee

For seventeen-year-old Shaun Treadway, terror and rage are a way of life. Living with the fear that his abusive stepfather will one day kill his mother, Shaun decides to kill him first-by setting fire to his childhood home with his stepfather inside.

Fleeing Baltimore to his mother's hometown in West Virginia, he hides out in his family's isolated cabin. Except the small town of Blackthorn Peak is anything but welcoming. The streets are deserted, there is no sign of life, and at the end of Main Street is the creepiest abandoned building he's ever seen: Blackthorn Peak Lunatic Asylum.

Investigating the grounds, Shaun meets the elusive and mysterious Cass. Thrilled to find someone his own age, he asks her on a date. On the night they're supposed to meet, though, Cass desperately tries to get him to leave. Running into the asylum, she tells him to never return.

He decides to do just that-leave. This girl and this town are far too creepy for him to stay. But when he hears Cass's scream, he can't help but rush into the building. What he discovers once inside is far darker and more sinister than even his worst nightmare. Uncovering the secrets that Cass keeps just might cost him his life.