J. Warren's Remains is an insular story, almost claustrophobic as we first join Mike Kendall where he lives: walled up in his own mind. 

As the book progresses, Kendall is drawn back to his hometown of Placerville, when the remains of a long-missing boy are finally found, a boy Kendall had shared a complicated history. 

No matter how much Kendall tries to resist the underside of the mystery behind Randy McPherson's disappearance, he must confront the lies that he has built his life upon.