Presents Mark Twain's classic novel of boyhood in the town of Petersburg on the banks of the Mississippi.

Now Thomas and Saxony have come to France's hometown, the dreamy Midwestern town of Galen, Missouri, to write France's biography. Warned in advance that France's family may oppose them, they're surprised to find France's daughter warmly welcoming instead. But slowly they begin to see that something fantastic and horrible is happening. The magic of Marshall France has extended far beyond the printed page...leaving them with a terrifying task to undertake....

As florist Bretta Solomon of Missouri opens an investigation into the murder of an Amish flower grower, someone plants a snake in her car to discourage her. A look at the flower industry and people's attitude to the Amish.

Five women in their forties, who grew up together in Kansas City, discuss the shooting by a sixth of her husband, to whom they were all connected in some way. They paint him in colors ranging from perfect lover, to wife abuser, to hated brother. After they have finished, the author allows the husband to reply from the grave.