Ten short stories that introduce some extraordinary women to contemporary literature. Thes stories test the power of the heart to heal or to destroy, and the power of words to make it so. From the author of the celebrated novel, DREAM KEEPER, and the short story collection, MEETING GOD OR SOMETHING LIKE IT. From the over-burdened BESS ANDERSON suddenly tasked with saving the world, to the rage of RACHEL, RACHEL, who having long ago abandoned hope, finds it in vengeance. These passionate, funny and often startling stories are about the eternal conflict between love and oblivion, between funny and gut-wrenching, and between true love and everything else.