Out of Bounds features Montreal women of different ages and cultural backgrounds facing a range of contemporary challenges and adventures at home and in other countries. Indigenous individuals, immigrant women, aging women, victims of domestic violence, addicts, and Holocaust survivors face making difficult choices at dramatic turning points in their lives. The stories are linked partly through one character who appears at key stages of her life, starting when she is sixteen and finishing when she is a retired anthropology professor and meets a fascinating but mysterious man she knew when she was a young reporter. She plays a role in the lives of several women featured in the book. One of the women, who starts as an accountant and ends up helping poor women in Mexico start small businesses, has a rambling Montreal house where she welcomes women needing a safe place to escape to while making life-changing decisions. Settings include Montreal, Vancouver, and New York, as well as Portugal, Mexico, Antigua, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and rural India.