Poplar

"There's some kind of evil that sticks around longer than others..."

Thomas Mitchell's mother abandoned him when he was a small child. Now as a new father himself, he's built a successful life for him and his family in the safety of a predictable world—far from the old Southern home that holds so many painful memories. But everything changes one morning when a fateful letter arrives: "I'm sick, Thomas... I want to see you..."
Faced with the possibility of his mother's death, Thomas must confront the past he's believed long buried. Compelled by the promise of closure, he makes the difficult decision to leave home for several days and head to Mississippi. Right before his departure, however, his father finally reveals the haunting truth behind his mother's abandonment—a revelation that casts a long shadow over their family's history.
On his way through Georgia, a flat tire strands Thomas near the isolated town of Judson. A place mired in Jim Crow-era beliefs, Judson offers little in the way of welcome. Just as his despair begins to settle in, he's approached by Tanner Mason, a seemingly kind-hearted, elderly farmer. Tanner offers to help Thomas, but quickly proves to be more than just a righteous stranger; he holds unsettling knowledge about Thomas's past—details no other person should be able to know.
As Thomas navigates the treacherous waters of his family's legacy, he finds himself in a battle not just for understanding, but for survival. In a town where the past and present collide violently, will Thomas find the answers he seeks, or will the burden of history prove too heavy to bear?

Poplar is a dark, menacing tale that explores the complexities of family, the scars of abandonment, and the long reach of hatred and racism. Some evil grows deep roots...