A slice of grim parts of life

In a town so small it can hardly be called a town, a black woman serves a rich white family until a series of horrific events causes the single joy in her life to vanish.

A large factory is shut down in a small town in Illinois, and the town's residents face a sudden economic depression — until a prison is built where the factory had been, invigorating the economy but bringing along with it unintended consequences.

In a poor, rural town, a mother worries about her adult son ever since he moved in with a girl whose family has a no-good reputation.

In the rural south, a sharecropper is terrorized by spirits after she and her family move into an abandoned plantation once inhabited by wealthy, classist elites.

Compiling notes for an English essay, a sixteen-year-old girl recounts her middle-class upbringing, kleptomania, and eventual coercion into prostitution and assisting with drug use. After she suffers violence and abuse, she is eventually rescued — but the experience traumatizes her.

In a rural town, a woman attempts to run away, with her three children, from her abusive husband. While the feat seems straightforward at first, a series of complications causes their escape to become increasingly precarious.

A father facing mental and physical debilitations has his sights set on capturing a drop of sunlight to bring joy to everyone in his small hometown. Despite his good deed, the town finds it necessary to deliberate: is this man an alcoholic, mentally ill, or a criminal?

In a small rural farm town, a middle-aged poet struggles with aging and finding meaning in his life.

A married couple tries to make ends meet for their hungry and sick children in the midst of the Depression but soon realize that sheer willpower cannot save them from the ruthless winter.