After Mickey Scarpato's stepson Leon, is killed in a construction "accident", Mickey quickly tries to bury the bad news along with the body. But even in the gritty, blue-collar neighborhood of God's Pocket, PA, no secret can stay hidden forever. When a local columnist comes sniffing around for the truth, Mickey quickly finds himself stuck in a life-and-death struggle compounded by a body he can't bury, a wife he can't please, and a debt he can't pay....

Thirteen-year-old Henry Wheeler struggles to be the man of the house and care for his reclusive mother, Adele, all the while confronting the pangs of adolescence.