This collection of prize-winning short stories opens up worlds of small, finely observed detail, which go on resonating in the reader's mind long after the story is finished. From the awkward strain of dissolving relationships to the revealing vagaries of chance occurrences upon ordinary people, the voices that inhabit these worlds speak eloquently of the hidden motivations that propel us all, finally, to act. Often without realising it, these characters hold in their hands both the consequences of small decisions and – sometimes – the power of life and death.

Specific stories deal with the risks that are taken and the compromises that are made both in forging and in escaping relationships; with the traumas – whether related to illness or to loss – that incite us to desperate measures; and with the everyday coincidences that drive our lives. Each story slowly builds to its climax and invariably has a sting in its tail.