Tom Gilroy

When his fiercely self-reliant mother dies unexpectedly, eleven-year-old Atticus is wary of the authorities and flees deep into the forests of his Catskills home. As Atticus wanders the woods in a daze, relying on whatever food and shelter he can find, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur.

"Racial slurs are scrawled in the restroom of this dusty Southwestern nowhere. The messages of hate make Byron want to get away-- now. But he's not going anywhere because the car taking him and his girlfriend, Nina, from Chicago to L.A. is stuck in the shop of a racist, price-gouging mechanic. Is Byron overreacting to what he sees? Are his fears about to explode in unexpected ways? With tempers flaring, it only takes a spark."--Container

An inside look into the politics of the creative process, two friends, both writers, face the daunting challenge of delivering negative criticism, but learn that the process can become a catalyst for self discovery and growth.