When a mysterious new member joins a group of struggling authors, the friends discover that they may have a supernatural creature in their midst, who can grant a single author success above all the others—but at a cost.

Vignettes of a number of relationships, most of them troubled, are glimpsed through the descriptions of creatures in this bestiary of the imaginary.

A writer uses his relationship with a mysterious woman as inspiration for his magical realism story. But, things go awry when he begins to question their compatibility.

A young boy grows up believing that he is a detective in an imaginary city, and he quickly grows suspicious of his new neighbor. As he grows older, he ruminates on his imaginary city.

After his drug dealing guardian brings a mysterious guest from California back to their small-town Ohio home, a teenage boy grows wary of the drinking and drug-laced life he’s lived so far. When he discovers his uncle’s true intentions and his guest’s fantastical identity, the boy and the guest hatch a plan to escape.

A Canadian graduate student and his wife are living in France and often socialize with their peers at concerts and dinner parties. They soon make friends with an established novelist, but as the student continues to meet people he begins to question who he can trust and who his real friends are.

A boy wonders who his real friends are.

Having sacrificed his dream job to financially support his marriage, a man realizes there is sexual tension between his wife and his friend. Ultimately, he makes tough decisions about both his friendship and his marriage.

A creator whimsically imagines up his island and decides to add two women and a magic poker. By the time his imaginary characters row away, he is no longer sure who created who.

Lost in her fantasy, 6-year old Elvy becomes devastated when she believes her imaginary husband has died. Her family strives to convince her otherwise.