In "Miserere," Mary Urquhart is a widowed librarian whose unspeakable secret concerning the death of her husband and children causes her to undertake a most unusual and grisly role in the anti-abortion crusade. In his classic and widely anthologized story " Helping" Stone examines with beautifully composed acuity a moment of climactic confrontation in the life of Elliot, a therapist beset by his own demons. Reminiscent of Dog Soldiers and A Flag for Sunrise, "Under the Pitons" is a harrowing story about Blessington, a somewhat reluctant participant in a drug-running scheme, and the grim and unexpected consequences of his involvement. And finally, the title story, a novella published here for the first time, is a powerful, riveting account of the tangled lines that weave together the relationship of a father and his grown daughter.