This humorous novel is about a family who has their cabin burned down and must move in with another family with completely different moral values. Aunt Mildred and crew have to deal with the dysfunctional Johnson family, having to do everything from eating only bread and butter to going to church all night. Tekka is pulled from college by her aunt and cousin in order to help the family financially. She has to deal with the loss of her semester’s worth of work and her steady boyfriend. She brings a friend along, Roberto, who is dealing with his own loss of semester by having poor grades. Roberto decides to go along so that he can help his friend, but also to get a job in Albuquerque. When the youngest son is kidnapped by his mean and vicious father, the family struggles to come up with the ransom money to buy his freedom. In the middle of everything a murder occurs. The whole family is affected and now they must deal with the consequences of the loss. Family bonds are tested under the extreme circumstances, even as Twisted Center makes its way through these twists and turns with humor.