This text offers a collection of paintings by the neo-realist Jack Vettriano. The editor has also woven an anthology of old and new writing around the the painter's images, complementing them, matching their moods, and extending the lives of the characters beyond their frozen moments on canvas. Vettriano's images are real in the sense that he portrays recognizable people in believable situations. They are tales without text, storyboards about love and lust, possession and longing, pursuit and conquest.