In this short story collection, the various facets of loss, sadness, and death humanity grapples with on a daily basis are explored. A young woman struggles to cope in "Empty Bed." A marriage crumbles in "Dissolved." A widower contemplates the circle of life in "Bonfires." A teenage orphan travels incessantly to escape her pain in "The Last Train Home." An abandoned spouse finds solace on the water in "Adrift." A Good Samaritan's help has unintended consequences in "Seconds." A suicidal man looks to one final good deed in "Free Fall." A town simpleton ponders the loneliness of God in "Preacher Man." A young man is haunted by the unexplained disappearance of his friend, the girl he loved, in "Drinking Buddies."