Roland Boone arrives in Southern Alabama determined to revive the commercial pecan orchard he inherited from the grandfather he never knew, and to learn about the family whose existence he only recently discovered. But Night Orchards presents him with a puzzle both intriguing and unnerving. It isn't simply the odd behavior of the neighboring farmers, or the orchard's unnatural silence. It's the shadows at the edge of his vision. The strange shapes in the forest. The bizarre, vivid dreams that bring back memories of a childhood spent locked up and medicated. Dreams that make him fear for his hard-won sanity.

The one solid element in Roland's shifting new world is the estate's enigmatic caretaker, Gilbert Vargas. In spite of his reserve, Gilbert offers both support and a sympathetic ear. And the heat in his secretive glances gives Roland hope that his attraction to the caretaker is reciprocated. What Roland wants most, however, is information about the Night family—his birth parents, his grandparents, his ancestors. But that's something Gilbert never talks about.

Until a gruesome murder forces the family's long-buried secrets into the light. When Roland discovers the unexpected power and joy of his ancestral heritage, he finds himself faced with an impossible choice: become what he was born to be, and lose the man he's come to love. Or help end a centuries-old horror, and lose the only true belonging he's ever known.