In this anthology of chills, thrills, and kills, a practitioner of the magical arts teaches the basics of her craft. The most important lesson? You must be mindful of your intention. Five of her customers are about to learn this the hard way: A woman looking to change her luck gets ensnared in a dangerous game; In the quest for justice, a man is transformed into a monster; In an attempt to right a wrong, a woman rescues a stray cat; A father and son are torn apart when a joke goes too far; A young girl needs protection from the demons in her life.

When retired heart surgeon Ben Givens learns that he has terminal cancer, he takes his beloved dog back to his boyhood home in Eastern Washington, determined to end his life on his own terms. Ben's journey, though, takes an unexpected turn, and soon becomes an adventure against which he pits himself with characteristic stoicism, wit, and determination.

The event on a young boy's birthday has consequences far into the future for himself and his family.

At 13 years old and the eldest of three kids, Lane struggles to keep her family together as her iconoclast mother moves without warning through the communes and dusty back woods of Northern California.

In a last-ditch attempt to get out of debt, an indecisive young man makes a series of radically frugal lifestyle choices without telling his girlfriend that he's going off the grid.