Desmond has a secret he cannot share with anyone. His grades are slipping, rumors are swirling and he feels powerless, especially when he sees his sister being hurt, too.
After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.
New Year's Eve 1999 finds college-bound Clark and Trevor concerned about the future of their friendship, and a request for Clark to be Trevor's wingman ensures things will never be the same again.
A young boy, Alfred, is dying, but through the stories about Helium, a magical fantasy world, told by the hospital's eccentric janitor, Enzo, Alfred regains the joy and happiness of his life, and finds a safe haven away from daily life.
In Manila, a solitary man from a far-away province lives in poverty. The only thing he has is a camera, and he stays at churches hoping people will hire him to take their photographs.
In Afghanistan, "batchas" are young male prostitutes who live under the protection of a master in a house where they are trained to dance dressed as girls for a men's audience.
When Matthew explores the 'spiral' in his grandmother's garden (a strange structure built by his late grandfather) he discovers an entrance into the magical world of 'the Shadows' where he meets his new Shadow friends, Yorrick and Alice, and begins his great adventure.
April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.