Juliet in August

Juliet, Saskatchewan is a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of town — a dusty oasis on the edge of the Little Snake sand hills. The town’s welcome sign promises a population of one thousand and eleven—so it’s easy to believe that nothing of consequence takes place there. But the hills vibrate with life, and the town’s heart beats in the rich and overlapping stories of its people: the rancher afraid to accept responsibility for the land his adoptive parents left him; the bank manager grappling with a sudden understanding of his own inadequacy; a shy couple, well beyond middle age, struggling with the recognition of their feelings for one another; a mother of six troubled by recurrent dreams of a plane crashing in her backyard. And somewhere, lost in the sand, a camel named Antoinette. Juliet’s inhabitants are caught in the limbo between a century-old promise of prosperity and whatever lies ahead.

As Juliet’s characters go about the business of their daily lives, navigating the all-too-human reality of miscommunications, fumbled dreams, unexpected detours and even unmarked victories, they discover, too, moments of grace, compassion, and beauty—moments to remind them that, despite it all, they will find their way.