While serial murderer Richard Earl Dayle lies dying of heart failure, he desperately urges his limbs to push the soft earth over his final victims. Preserving his persona is ultimately more important to him than survival. With the discovery of his crimes, his family is faced with a mystery: How could this be the man they all loved? As Richard's mother, daughter, wife, and ex-wife seek answers to this question, Karisha Kal'ee'ay illuminates their guilt, shame, and anger. Although the unfolding psychological and emotional drama reveals them as the victims they truly are, their laughter and affection transform a shared bereavement into an unbreakable bond. Searching for sympathy in a grief support group, Richard's widow Ember finds herself viewed with morbid fascination and suspicion. After all, is it really safe to befriend the wife of a serial killer? In time she grows close to a mourning transsexual whose circumstances are even more tragic than her own. As this relationship progresses, its surprising repercussions lead these unusual survivors through a remarkable evolution. Living in a small town in rural Georgia has always made Frances feel isolated, but after her son's crimes are uncovered she becomes an outcast. Perhaps it's time to sell her home, the place where her son grew up, but first she feels it necessary to gather with those Richard left behind in the hope that they can help each other understand what drove him to kill. Attempting to manage her own sorrow, Richard's teenage daughter Bridgett sets out to document the stories of his victims. This project brings together a curious cast of characters that will force Richard's family to confront the dark, hidden history of the man they thought they knew. When a murderer takes a victim, anguish and misery are predictable, but when he is exposed, it is the death of his facade that his loved ones must cope with. A Brief Madness is a fresh exploration into the aftermath of a serial killer's violence, as seen from the perspective of the murderer's own family.