The world of the West Indian defies boundaries, as disclosed with poignant realism in these fine stories set in the West Indies, New York City and Canada. Dabydeen uses a language and style distinctly his own, combined with humor and open-eyed wonder, to probe a diversity of situations and consider with understanding and generosity the foibles and idiosyncrasies of his characters and their remarkable endurance and will to survive. Long after the stories have been read, his characters continue to haunt the mind.