Rites of Passage: agonizing yet delicious; a time of heightened reality. This anthology explores change and transition, and their different qualities--timeless and momentary. Characters in these stories confront polygamy, death, orgasm, gender-bending, puberty, separation, chemical reaction, and the borders of madness, focusing our attention on the essence of change. Contributors include Sylvia Brownrigg, Idious Buguise, Alison Campbell, Buchi Emecheta, Susan Hill, A. L. Kennedy, Deborah Moggach, Jenny Palmer, Joanna Rosenthal, Joanna Torey, Janette Turner Hospital, and Erica Wagner, among others.