Anthony Marshall has just pulled off the biggest bank robbery of his young career. Now all he has to do is lay low on an orchard until the heat dies down. But the plan turns sour when Charlie Dungham, the host of the orchard, proves to be just as ambitious in his awkward methods of apple fermentation. The hard cider keeps on pouring as donkey rides and barbecues lead to betrayal and murder. Big city meets the big country in this unorthodox dark comedy that proves sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree.

The book's cover design uses visuals of a seemingly wholesome apple eaten to its core superimposed with a skeleton's rib cage and spine to reveal the underlying macabre nature of this black humor story. The title playfully rearranged around the image is suggestive of the humorous tone of the book.