A belladonna arms novel welcome to the belladonna arms, a rundown little apartment building perched atop a hill in downtown san diego, home to the city's lost and lovelorn. shy archaeology student stanley sternbaum has just moved in and fills his time quietly observing his eccentric neighbors, avoiding his hellion mother, and trying his best to go unnoticed... which proves to be a problem when it comes to fellow tenant roger jane. smitten, the hunky nurse with beautiful green eyes does everything in his power to woo stanley, but stanley has always lived a quiet life, too withdrawn from the world to take a chance on love. especially with someone as beautiful as roger jane. while roger tries to batter down stanley's defenses, stanley turns to his new neighbors to learn about love: ramon, who's not afraid to give his heart to the wrong man; sylvia, the trans who just wants to be a woman, and the secret admirer who loves her just the way she is; arthur, the aging drag queen who loves them all, expecting nothing in return--and roger, who has been hurt once before but is still willing to risk his heart on stanley, if stanley will only look past his own insecurities and let him in.