Wonderfully moving, these are important, generous stories; compassionate expressions of what can destroy, bewilder and console.

This is a tremendous collection from an hugely exciting author. These stories are bold, daring and generous and herald the arrival of one of America's most talented writers.

From a married man consummating a hazy summer affair and getting lost in a reverie that explains the 'far-away look in his eyes' to a recently widowed woman who must decide what to do with the video of her honeymoon love-making, David Means probes the depths of the human heart. The stories are panoramic in scope and exhilirating in their narrative twists; a starving tramp interrupts a wedding reception in New York, altering the lives of all those who are present; a Depression-era hobo clings to the underside of a freight train as it roars through the desert night; a business executive sheds his shoes for an evening walk along the railway tracks and straight into the heart of darkness.

This is a writer who is willing to take a few risks. And through these risks he creates worlds of longing and tragedy; an impression of wholeness emerging through his characters' scattered lives. Bound to attract critical praise, these tales delve deeper than most stories being published today.