Four characters grapple with enigmas in this collection of short stories as they face challenges with family, themselves, the future, and the world at large. Graham seems to have a happy family life but wonders why his wife's behavior takes an unexpected ugly turn. Herb has a life-changing secret that not even his wife knows, but it isn't kept for long. Young Ashley learns the importance of perseverance in a shocking and unusual cautionary tale. Last but not least in the collection is a story set in the past. An anxious American mother receives long-awaited news of her soldier son, who is caught in a faraway World War II operation.