A Word Child: Twenty years ago, Hilary Burde was one of the most promising scholars at Oxford, a student with a rare talent for linguistics and an unquenchable drive-until the accident. Now, forty-one and a decidedly ordinary failure, Hilary finds his quietly angry routine shattered when his old professor reappears-a man whose own demons are tied to Hilary's and the tragedy from years ago. As the two men begin to circle each other again, digging up old wrongs and seeking forgiveness for long-buried ills, they find themselves on a path that will either grant them both redemption and end in their mutual destruction.
An Unofficial Rose: Hugh Peronett's life is tinged with regret: Twenty-five years ago, he ended an affair with Emma Sands, a detective novelist who had stolen his heart, to be with his wife, Fanny. Now Fanny is gone, and both Hugh and his grown son, Randall, find themselves at a crossroads of passion and righteousness. As Hugh, Emma, Randall, Randall's wife, Randall's mistress, and several others are caught in a dance of romance and rejection in bucolic rural England, they search for the true meanings of love, companionship, and desire.
Bruno's Dream: With not much time left to live, Bruno makes a final request to those who care for him: He wishes to see his estranged son, Miles, once more. After decades of broken contact due to Miles marrying a woman Bruno once found unsuitable, the prodigal son returns home-and finds himself confronting much more than a dying man's last demand. As Miles; his wife and his sister-in-law; Bruno's son-in-law, Danby; and Bruno's nurses and aides gather at this deathbed vigil, they become entangled in a web of affairs.
