In elegiac and lucid prose Betty Howard captures the spirit of characters struggling with their own natures and the constrictions of society: whether it be a wealthy upper-class housewife in Marin County, California, trapped in a dysfunctional family; or a violent inmate incarcerated in a Colorado jail; or a female rancher coming up against male patriarchs in Custer County, Colorado; or a ditsy Broadmoor widow incapable of making sense of her life. These frail, misguided characters are forced into making choices and often non-choices with tragic but sometimes hilarious outcomes.