An echo of the novella set in one of King's signature landscapes: the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. The small town has witnessed strange events and unusual visitors, but there is a story that has never been told... until now.

There are three ways to get to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson climbs the stairs, which are held by strong (though rusty) iron bolts and zigzag across the side of the hill.

One day, as Gwendy breathes heavily and hears the voices of children in the yard and the sound of an aluminum bat hitting a ball, a stranger calls out to her. On a bench in the shade sits a man with a small, neat black hat. He offers Gwendy a mahogany wooden box with colorful buttons. The buttons will give her gifts, like chocolate that might make her slimmer. But he warns her that the gifts will be 'small compensation for the responsibility.'

Relive Castle Rock in this chilling new novella from Stephen King, the bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December.

Pages: 192, Publication Year: 0906, Dimensions: 12.8x12.8cm