Self-serving adults and broken dreams push a teenage boy trapped in a dead-end town closer and closer toward the abyss. Reiji’s life is as miserable as the small town he can’t escape. The most interesting thing that’s ever happened there is a double suicide down by the river. Does Reiji have any power over his fate, or will he too fall into the abyss? Esemori’s relationship with Reiji’s mother, Yuki, is a complex tale of infidelity, broken hearts, and an attempt at heroism that leads to a terrible, fateful act. How does Esemori’s tragic life inform his writing and his feelings for Reiji? And is Yuki really to blame for everyone else’s suffering?