The Returnables: A love story about garbage and The King

By Brian Gerard (Lewandowski)

Gary Plotz's life is a monument to mediocrity until a mysterious carpetbag appears on his porch, dragging him into an afterlife temp agency. Suddenly, Gary is a "handler" for Providence Freight & Salvage, a shadowy company that recalls dead celebrities and puts them to work. His new roommate? A twenty-years-tarnished Elvis Presley, sleeping in his garage, avoiding his own cosmic baggage.

But this isn't just a bizarre celebrity sighting. Gary, dead-adjacent from an unspoken incident, finds his existence tied to the bag's demands. It collects the detritus of abandoned lives, and if it isn't filled before the officious, disco-pimp Elf named Terrence and his Black Auto of Death come calling, Gary is next.

As winter descends on Buffalo, mirroring Gary's escalating dread, he must navigate the absurd bureaucracy of the afterlife and the profound personal baggage of the recalled. With help from his best friend, a sincere con man, and his one-armed, insightful wife, Gary grapples with the metaphysical and the mundane, all while Elvis clings to a phantom Graceland.

The bag isn't just for five-cent deposits; it's a cosmic confessional, forcing Gary to confront his own suppressed trauma. Can he help a congregation of dead legends shed their regrets, fill the bag, and finally unburden his own soul before time runs out?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H8B4211W
• ISBN13: 9798186586692
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"