Set against the bright sand, murky waters, and barrier islands of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, this "strong, vivid" (--Kirkus Reviews) short story collection honors working-class lives shaped by loss, longing, and desperation. A mother and son search for a missing father in the seedy bars and strip clubs of Dixie Mafia-era Biloxi Beach. A grieving brother seeks solace in the post-Katrina ruins of a once-glamorous hotel. A ceremony honoring Biloxi's civil rights wade-ins troubles a White woman's conscience. An immigrant oyster cannery worker faces an impossible decision. Unsentimental yet radically compassionate, this "exceptional debut" (Mary Miller, author of Biloxi: A Novel and Always Happy Hour: Stories) establishes Amelia Franz as a powerful new voice in contemporary Southern fiction.