Strange and unexpected relationships form the basis of these nine tales of mystery and imagination. Set in nine different locations from the pastoral fenlands of England to the streets of London; from New England to Colorado, with stops in Africa on the way, they situate the reader in diverse settings from tennis courts to a luxury cruise ship. A cast of unconventional characters are caught up in unusual circumstances and respond in their own individual and sometimes bizarre ways. Two young women form a friendship of dependence; a young man is swept along by fame; a well-known artist secures a trophy wife; a group of friends take a Caribbean cruise with disastrous results; a woman with a grievance finds her own solution; a lonely man discovers strangers at his door; a teenager finds her innocence doubted, and a old man takes up braiding string to fill his days.