A young boy discovers the ambiguity of adult affection. A camp comedian cracks up on stage. A picture-restorer learns to accept her husband's true nature. A prisoner confronts the unbridgeable gap between 'town' and 'gown'. A travel agent tastes the mysterious power of the Internet. A honeymoon couple take an unconventional route to love.

Michael Arditti's dazzling collection of stories employs a host of remarkable characters and a range of original voices to take an uncompromising look at love and loss in the twenty-first century. These twelve stories of contentment and confusion, defiance and desire, are marked by all the wit, compassion and insight that distinguish this award-winning author's novels.