Lion Loose in the Garden tells the concurrent and juxtaposed stories of two teenage boys, each faced with impossible situations of mind control and sexual abuse.In Pennsylvania Dutch country, Owen McPhail turns to an estranged grandfather for help when his father commits suicide and his mother slips into a psychotic depression. But his grandfather turns out to be a manipulative criminal, and Owen must take desperate measures to protect his younger sister Josey from this monster.Running alongside Owen's tale is the action/adventure story of Leo Durant, who takes his young sister Molly on a quest to find their long-lost mother after their father also kills himself. They discover her trapped in a compound deep in the wilderness of Oregon, under the spell of a psychedelic sex cult. Leo must enlist the help of former cult member/now wild-child Daphne in order to save his family and take down the false prophet.