A collection of stories describing some strange encounters: a boy on the cusp of manhood, a girl goes to the prom under less than fashionable circumstances, a young man gets exactly what's coming to him, a mercenary commander who's not what he seems to be, a man lost in the citrus trees, a ghost struggles to maintain some semblance of normality, three people struggle over a museum artifact, a mysterious note leads a man all over town in futile pursuit, an apartment full of strangers, and a rat leads his man to sanctuary.