After the death of their father, two brothers move in with their unfamiliar aunt and uncle in Harlan, Kentucky, but a bullying incident at school threatens to separate the family.

A young boy burns with childish attraction for his mother's beautiful friend, but finds that a single mistake could ruin everything he imagined between them.

In contemporary times, a fifteen-year-old creative writing whiz is sent to a gifted creatives summer camp in Massachusetts, where he meets a young male trombonist. As the two become friends and the writer gets to know the trombonist’s family and their troubles, he turns the trombonist and his dying sister into novel characters. Everything changes when the trombonist discovers the writer’s manuscript.

A father contemplates whether he should kiss his son on the lips when saying good night.

A man develops a deep interest in the author of a children's book he reads to his daughters. Ignoring his wife's confusion and mild disapproval, he goes to visit the author's old house and takes his daughters with him.