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Mohr takes listeners to 2003 San Francisco as the country divides into groups for and against the Iraq War. Damascus, a dive bar in the Mission District, becomes the unlikely setting for a showdown between the opposing sides. Tensions come to a boil when the bar's proprietor agrees to host a show by an ambitious artist with a flair for the dramatic.

In 1975 the young timid Toby Ruben begins a life-long bond with the dynamic, boisterous Deborah Laidlaw. Through the years, they raise their children together, find jobs teaching, and argue over the intricacies of life. Although at times feelings get hurt, the two women enjoy sharing an honest, open friendship -- until one day, tragedy strikes.

Through 12 expressive and haunting short stories, Lincoln explores the lives of an African American community in the South. Each of the families survives loss and disappointment, and through growth and change discovers its place in society.

As a 41-year-old man confronts his own mortality in this collection's title story, he recalls his Spokane Indian father's chilling death from alcoholism and diabetes. Another tale features an eccentric salesman pursuing a married woman from airport to airport. And then there's the film editor who sees nothing wrong with altering footage to fit preconceived views--until he becomes the target of media distortion.

Presents the story about a young, working girl in a poor London neighborhood. Her sad story is the story of poverty everywhere.

Julianna and her niece are marking time in a villa in Venice. A literary editor obsessed with the work of a long-dead poet, Jeffrey Aspern, comes into their lives to try to ferret out his papers.

Presents four short stories by the 19th century New England writer.

Mary Jo's caustic comments about love and life can't conceal her confusion about both, but liberated baptist Fayrene and party girl Collie help Mary Jo cope in a white, patriarchal world.

In Haiti during the dictatorial 1960s, the man known as the "dew breaker" was a torturer. Now an American and a fixture in his Brooklyn neighborhood, he maintains a quiet life as a husband and father. His terrible deeds lie buried. As we meet his family, neighbors, and even his past victims, his story becomes one of reconciliation and rebellion. And as we return one final time to his turbulent past, we witness his last violent act, and his first encounter with the woman who offers him a chance for salvation.

Twenty years after her bipolar brother's penchant for chasing tornadoes leads to deadly consequences, Karena Jorge finds out that he has escaped from a psychiatric ward, prompting her to join a band of professional stormchasers in hope of finding her disturbed brother.