What happens when life doesn't turn out as planned? This collection of two darkly evocative stories explores the choices and compromises we make in life and in love, and how they can trap or liberate us, depending on our mindset.

In "Cage Life," a young mother feels like a prisoner in her own home. Her decision to escape the perceived bonds of marriage and motherhood, just for a few hours, has unexpectedly tragic consequences that force her to a re-evaluate what it really means to be loved, to be married, to be a mother, and to be "free," and what truly matters in life.

In "The Usurper," unconditional love is explored within the boundaries of age and longing. Basil is in his eighties, with an illustrious career in law enforcement behind him, when he meets Carla: a beautiful, energetic and much younger mistress. But when Simon appears on the scene, can Basil keep her or does she, in fact, keep him? With a twist that makes reading all the way to the end imperative, The Usurper poses the question: "Are things ever really as they seem or is our reality filtered by perception?"

Note: These stories contain some drug use and explore the darker aspects of the human condition—irrational fault-finding, subconscious fears, guilt, grief, jealousy, and blame—but careful readers should find neither without hope of redemption, forgiveness, or character growth.