Bloodroot contains 24 stories in every sub-genre of crime fiction by some of the best-known writers working today as well as new voices. Stories include a cozy featuring Amelia Earhart, an insecure bank robber, a lawyer on the verge of losing a case, a businessman about to go bankrupt, a woman out for a hike in the desert, a researcher on a ship in the Aleutian Islands, a graduate student in English literature visiting England, and a man marooned in his apartment during a blizzard. In these and other stories, protagonists of all stripes are challenged to survive.