Rather than magical stories, Adorable Humans grounds four of Hans Christian Andersen’s tales—The Dead Man, The Story of a Mother, The Snow Queen, and Auntie Toothache—in a bleak, contemporary psychological reality. Across the chapters, a male care worker neglecting his responsibilities discovers an unearthly connection between a dying elderly patient and his erratic girlfriend; a grieving mother descends into horrific obsession while trying to keep her dying son alive; a young woman wrestling with severe mental health issues and shame causes emotional strain with her partner; and an ambitious, struggling musician makes a dark bargain with his aunt to cure his writer's block.