Ruth, frustrated in her marriage,struggling with guilt, yet testing the barriers to love imposed by religion and race... Graeme, a woodworker, falling for Rachel whose experience of life is that all men are odious... Giacinta, the courageous leader of the Italian Artic Team, who is confident, as a scientist, that sex can be dealt with rationally... Aiden, an elderly widower, suffering early Alzheimers, seeking to confer a blessing on the woman he secretly loves... These tales portray how deep longing and the human desire for love lead to consequences, often troubled, always unexpected.