Deinstitutionalization has just begun, yet it can't come soon enough for one infamous patient with a violent criminal past. Amidst the sweltering summer heat during a chaotic morning in town, an antsy barber, a nostalgic farmer, a distressed sheriff, and a troubled labourer mull over a shocking escape from the psychiatric hospital.

These four unforgettable characters navigate their everyday lives, and as their paths diverge once more, unforeseen and inadvertent events collide.

R. Conrad Speer, a Saskatchewan-based writer, is known for Saint Lazarus Day and Other Stories, published by Atmosphere Press in 2020. With a postgraduate certificate in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh, he draws inspiration in this novel from his past experiences working on the grounds of a vast rural psychiatric hospital.