"As his mother's dementia worsens, a devoted, favored son is shocked to learn of his mother's past; a father's meager outdoor skills are no match for a terrifying turn in the weather; old friends holding too many grudges go camping and hire a suicidal guide with too many rules. In several stories, unlikely alliances form: an eccentric neighbor who babysits for a busy, unstable couple becomes overly attached; an accomplished cattle geneticist gets sidetracked by the glamour of a stranger's easy money; an injured ranch owner is charmed by his hired help -- and becomes collateral damage in a classic art world heist. In all, the acuity of McGuane's darkly comic vision is surpassed only by the compassion he manifests for even the rascalliest of his creatures"--

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