Nothing in their life stories resembles yours, except their humanity and pathos. A carnival barker's worst nightmare brought to life: a compendium of freaks, physically and psychically scarred, seeking redemption and attention. Chloe Red and Kay Sutter, age and youth, guile and beguiling. H. Charles Branhoover and H. James Branhoover, each with a hand holding that of Death. Bernrd Red, firstborn son without a legacy, self-styled cooler, preppy hoodlum. Zachary R., failed chosen one, father and husband, benevolently misguided by an angel of sorts. From the rivers of Pittsburgh to the streets of New Orleans, cut-rate rooms in a Hollywood youth hostel and ashes floating on the depths of a bottomless lake, these American Strays enter and exit one another's lives, bringing justice and misery, humor and mercy, asking more questions than providing answers.