The twelve stories in investigate the hazards of men and women becoming fathers and mothers: the immediate harm and the long-term damage. In 'Mass Graves,' a new mother's stay-at-home anxieties are amplified by the ominous chipmunk infestation overtaking her townhouse. In 'Gestation,' a father-to-be nurtures the idea of his ex-girlfriend's imagined infidelity until it matures into a fully grown mania. In 'Six,' a deceased woman's biography and failings as a mother are communicated piecemeal through the ruminations of her pallbearers. In 'The Vasectomy Doctor's Online Presence,' the professional and familial successes of an urologist are cruelly and publicly undercut by his failed musical aspirations. And in the title story, a mother's irrational worry about her son's language development puts irreparable strain upon her marriage.