Two strangers have to share a three storied house for a few days, both insisting on maintaining order and making themselves indispensable. A woman anxiously awaits the arrival of a younger man to liberate her from her boredom and frustration. Scott returns to England after his polar expedition but nobody welcomes him. A girl named Clara dedicates herself to following in the footsteps of an evasive cat. A mother decides to terrify her son to ensure that he will never leave her side. The fourteen stories included in “The Cruellest Month” comprise a painstaking collection of recipes for surviving loss, separation, madness and fear