This exceptional collection shows Gifford at the height of his powers, navigating with ease the new, more fragmented imaginative landscape of post-9/11 America. Gifford seems to have anticipated themes that suddenly are recognisable everywhere: the fragility of identity; the power of coincidence; the illusion of a secure future. In contrast to his often nightmarish novels of the 1990s, Wild At Heart, Perdita Duranga, and Night People, this is a gentle overture, a submission of grace and beauty at a time when cultural discourse has moved in the opposite direction.