The stories in this collection depict widely different characters and circumstances, but they are united by a common theme; that is, we are shaped by the ways in which we interact with others. As examples: In "The Right Thing," a lonely elderly woman and a spunky neglected child invent a family...outside the law. "Mesalliance" and "Beating the Odds" give a new twist to the old theme of boy meets girl. "Girl on the Run" might be summed up as "out of the frying pan into the fire." All of these creatures of the author's imagination react to their encounters with love, regret, fear, courage, pain, hope...good and bad behavior. But, ultimately, they exist only in their encounters with readers.