Eleven vivid and compelling stories The title story reveals why an elderly bag lady becomes the centre of attention in an Oxford Street store there is a tale of thwarted love in London's East End, and a number of examples of how the smooth surface of a buried past can be disrupted by the intrusions of the present With her customary freshness and directness, Lena Kennedy explores the enduring power of love, the triumph of hope over adversity, the problems of illness and racial prejudice, and the quirky kindness of fate