Instead of chasing boys on the beach with her friends, recent college grad Dora finds herself caring for her reclusive Great Aunt in snowy upstate New York. When the imaginative girl discovers her aunt's hidden romantic past, Dora dreams that their revelation will pull Aunt Vera and herself from their mutual depressions.

Jack is a fifteen year-old boy stuck in a run-down small town. Trapped in a violent feud with a cruel older bully and facing another bout of summer school, Jack's got all the problems he can handle. So when Jack's aunt falls ill and his runty younger cousin must stay with him for the weekend the last thing Jack wants to do is look after him. Unfortunately no one really cares what Jack wants. Set over a hazy summer weekend, King Jack is a tough and tender coming of age story about friendship and finding happiness in bleak surroundings.