In Ordinary Life, the opening story of this collection, Mavis McPherson locks herself in the bathroom for a week. In Today’s Special, a woman finds solace in the simple atmosphere of the local diner. In White Dwarf, marriage secrets are revealed as a couple plays a word-association game. And in Martin’s Letter to Nan, the unforgettable husband and wife from Berg’s novel The Pull of the Moon engage in a new correspondence.