Idle Grounds takes place over one summer day during a birthday party. The adults have gathered in the back, sucked into their own drama and rehashed grudges. 

Meanwhile, the young cousins follow the eldest of the their group around their aunt's house, creating games and ways to pass the time. Suddenly, their youngest cousin wanders off into the front yard and the rest of the kids decide to find her. 

What follows is a fever dream-like series of adventures through prickly hedges, unfamiliar woods, a pet cemetery, and even into the neighbor's house. Idle Ground drags the reader back to childhood, when everything ordinary seemed extraordinary and stepping past the known was courageous. But there are also tones of family legacy, mental health, class, and parent/child relationships, all wound in a child's view of these adult topics.