Contemporary, middle-class America is the setting for these fifteen tales of ordinary men, women, and children: an estranged couple survives a road trip to hell, another unhappy couple spars with exasperating neighbors, an unwanted daughter goes on an unusual hike, and children are misunderstood or must fend for themselves. Here, in this unsettling collection, normal people are confronted with the unknown, the unpredictable, and the extraordinary, and practical, everyday life balances precariously with chaos and the absurd.