Miss Amelia Evans, tall, strong and nobody's fool runs a small-town store. Except for a disastrous marriage that lasted just ten days, she has always lived alone. The Cousin Lymon appears from nowhere, a strutting hunchback who steals Miss Amelia's heart. Together they transform the store into a lively, popular café where the locals come to drink and gossip. But when her rejected and dangerous ex-husband Marvin Macy returns, the result is a bizarre love triangle that brings with it violence, hatred and betrayal. Six short stories by Carson McCullers also appear in this volume.