Looking out into the "long blank stare" of the desert night, Jim holds on as the freight train bears down on the Mojave. His mind races, wondering how long his grip will last, how long he will survive this ride or his hobo's existence. In this new collection, David Means takes readers inside his characters, their philosophies, and the moment when their lives take an irreparable turn toward fate: a doctor in a moral quandary, a yuppie in trouble, a widow caught between loss and survival.