Eanna O'Dowd

Cherry drifts from college dropout to army medic in Iraq—anchored only by his one true love, Emily. But after returning from the war with PTSD, his life spirals into drugs and crime as he struggles to find his place in the world.

The clumsy and unfunny clown Richard "Stitches" Grindle entertains at the 10th birthday party of little Tom, but the boy and his friends play a prank with Stitches, tying his shoelaces. Stitches slips, falls and dies. Six years later, Tom gives a birthday party for his friends at home, but Stitches revives to haunt the teenagers and revenge his death.

Rose, a child of Irish and Italian immigrants in 1968 Brooklyn, attempts to fit in with the boys by joining the game her brother plays with his friend. Their tenement building super, and local Deacon starts preying on Rose, until Mrs. Teruli, an old-world Italian healer breaks his hold.