17-year-old Bret Easton Ellis is in his final year at the elite Buckley prep school. Upending his world is the arrival of a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory, whose unsettling presence coincides with the activities of a serial killer known as The Trawler.

Leah Garr wants to move from Phoenix to take a new job in Denver to help her family (Husband Marcus and Daughter Robin). When Robin goes to camp to give her parents time to sort things out, something unexpected occurs. On Robin's return from camp she finds out her mom is taking the new job in Denver, only returning each weekend to visit. During this turmoil in Robin's life, A new lady, Dorothy, befriends Robin, moves into the same apartment complex and spends a lot of time with her and her father Marcus. Leah is concerned about this because she does not know very much about Dorothy or her intentions. It soon becomes clear that Dorothy is after much more than friendship with the Garr family.

One night Nancy Lyon awakes in pain and dies shortly after - poisoned with arsenic. Her family immediately suspects her husband Richard, who left her temporarily the year before because of an affair. Especially Nancy's brother is keen on getting the children away from the suspected murderer. All evidence points against Richard, but in court Richard surprisingly presents proof that his wife had depressions and maybe killed herself - or are these proofs just fake? -- Depicts an authentic case.

Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.