In this powerful and virtuosic collection of interlocking stories, each one a marvel of concision and compassion (Washington Post), Peter Orner, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and master of his form (New York Times), takes the short story to new heights. Through forty-four compressed gems, Peter Orner, a writer who doesnt simply bring his characters to life, he gives them souls (NYT Book Review), chronicles people whose lives are at inflection points, gripping us with a series of defining moments. Whether its a first date that turns into a late-night road trip to a séance in an abandoned airplane hangar, or a familys memories of the painful mystery surrounding a forgotten uncles demise, Orner reveals how our fleeting decisions between kindness and abandonment chase us across time. These stories are anchored by a poignant novella that delivers not only the joys and travails of a forty-year marriage, but an entire era in a working-class New England city. Bristling with the crackling