Inspired by the Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks, John Horak's debut novel Midnight Concessions scrapes beneath the paint to reveal the inner lives of the four individuals captured within Hopper's masterpiece.
Jay, Osvaldo, Stephanie, and Thorpe meet regularly in the early-morning hours at Phillies Diner. Each is running away from traumatic events: Jay struggles with intense sadness over the loss of his wife to cancer; Osvaldo, the sole overnight employee of the diner, lost his entire family to a Sonoran drug cartel; Stephanie feels betrayed by every single person she's ever loved, and now she lives an uncertain life, realizing the only person she can really trust is herself; and Thorpe is fleeing from past crimes.
Phillies Diner offers all of them safe harbor, though none can ever truly be free from this story of improbable love and crushing loss. They can, however, find stability within the blaze and the ashes. The shocking ending, which could be interpreted in four different ways, is one that few readers will see coming!
