I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree...

I shall have some peace there.

—W.B.Yeats

A cheerleader touches a high school wrestler's face, running her finger along his two-day beard. Thus begins their covert affair, one so understated he can't be certain she's aware of it, from which he will date his sexual life. A cynical greeting card writer, who becomes America's best-selling poet, seeks redemption on tour. Enchanted by a woman at a party, a man at loose ends recalls Calla Dakos and six weeks that shook his life. A sandwich maker discovers a book of Jewish folklore, left by a customer in his shop, and is inspired by the legendary Rabbi Akiba, who was also a failure at 40. Upon hearing of his sister's terminal diagnosis, a private detective stages a comeback on the freestyle wrestling circuit.

These three novellas and two stories portray people in crisis, searching for Innisfree.