In the heart of the Midwest, Lead Belly's, a rowdy Toledo bar, becomes an unlikely sanctuary for a group of wayward servers, cooks, and carousers, as they grapple with their own desires for stability and purpose amidst a backdrop of hardcore revelry, secrecy, and struggle. "Where All Things Flatten" is a gripping novel-in-stories that spans twenty-six years, shedding light on the tumultuous lives of these stridently working-class individuals who, against their own will, find solace and connection in a world of raucous desperation.