'A retired college president is determined to best a young beachcomber
' A store manager accuses a boy of shoplifting
' A tour guide strikes a bargain with an enterprising orphan
' A boy recovering from a broken arm befriends an elderly woman
in an old folks' home
' A widow and her son seize an opportunity presented
by a pair of antiques dealers
In each of these extraordinary short stories from the perceptive pen of E. L. Konigsburg, a chance meeting between two people casts a shadow on what things have been and what they can become, and changes a life forever.