This is a collection of stories that veil the truth. Loosely woven around a thread, they start to unravel when a nondescript man unexpectedly wins the lottery and decides to give the money away. As the veil is torn, we discover truths about the man and his secret lives, the townsfolk and their secret lives and both the seamless and the seamy sides-portrayals of our own betrayals. These stories dominate the book: the Christmas Coward stories, the Chuck stories, the Sally stories, and the Ethel stories. Nothing happens. Each story is a celebration of the ordinary, the trivial; it is a vehicle for viewing the secret life and the feeling of 'other'.