In this debut collection of stories, a middle-aged woman spends her life in the slot machine pit of a rural casino where she navigates her misplaced affections for two men: one a lifelong gambler and couch-surfing cad, the other a kid in his early twenties who makes her forget her own age and place in the world. Twenty-something newlyweds Asa and Maria attempt to conceive for the first six months of their marriage. When her apparent dream of becoming a wife and mother doesn't pan out quickly, Maria distances herself from Asa. A septuagenarian utilizes younger shoppers as pawns to make her weekly grocery-store jaunt that much easier to navigate. Teeming with characters just on the fringe of the mainstream, these stories examine the mundane and abject sides of normalcy. The characters find humor and beauty in unlikely places, while often playing victimor at times accompliceto their circumstances.