As the only journalist on the island of Hopeless, Maine, Frampton Jones has seen terrible things. His quest for the truth exposes him to strangeness at every turn. Now someone is leaving him messages written with the remains of fish. The island's spoon thief may be using his home as their hideout. His camera is probably possessed by something unspeakable. Trying to make sense of the things he encounters is an ongoing flirtation with madness. A Semblance of Truth is set at about the same time as the first Hopeless, Maine graphic novel (Personal Demons) and fills in some of the background for that story while also expanding on the peculiarities of life on a gothic island.