The Pain Tree tells stories that speak to all aspects of Jamaican life. We hear from poor folk making the best of past hardships ("Coal"); rich folk plotting future selfishness ("The Goodness of My Heart"); and a young girl, forced to shoulder her mother's burdens in addition to her own ("Lollipop"). Bookending these are two powerful stories about the inextricability of home and history: in "The Pain Tree," the protagonist realizes the love she abandoned, and the pain she left behind; in "Flying," the lead character, searching for his missing piece, comes home for good.