Two towns--one unnamed, one called Ruination--share an uneasy relationship with the river that separates them. Within their borders, the aftermath of a murder lingers in unexpected ways. A marriage disintegrates. A waitress dies. A flood threatens.

With dark humor and a direct gaze, Battiste explores the inscrutable and the mundane, uncovering the potential for catastrophe in both. Foremost a book of sorrows, Waiting for the Wreck to Burn spurns any attempt at healing. Instead, the poems embrace the dislocation of grief and the absurdity of starting over.