In a tall and narrow house, on a stained and busy street, live 12-year-old Oliver and his father, a story-loving writer. Haunted by the ghost of his alcoholic mother, Oliver finds comfort in his father's impromptu tales: the Black Dove, an elusive flower that gives strength; the girl who consumes it as she battles attackers and yearns for happier realms. Running from a bully one night, Oliver finds refuge in a junk shop owned by an enigmatic man. Soon, Oliver spends afternoons in the shop, a cavernous place full of storied oddities and grubby wonders where creatures rise up from the basement.
From the community