In an unlikely encounter, a homeless teenage boy recounts harsh events of his life to a writer. He nonchalantly tells of an employer whose assignments caused him to have permanent physical and mental damage.

In the WWII era, a married couple spectates a death-defying stunt. The husband likens the impossible feat to their failing marriage and is relieved when the performer succeeds, but when the man then falls to his death, his wife's strange reaction signals the end of their love.

Grateful to have a reason to escape the brutality of war, an injured American soldier is happy to be in the care of nurses and medics. Unfortunately, the doctor's decision leaves him grappling for reasons to keep fighting.

A writer reflects on his mother’s incredible strength, which he depicts in a short story. However, his mother does not approve of the piece as he had hoped, and he soon makes an important discovery.

After a bout of cardiac insufficiency, a middle-aged, successful lawyer chafes against the restrictive conditions of his recovery and begins to rely on his young son for reassurance.

A man whose body has suffered as a result of fetal alcohol syndrome persists on—despite the bullying and naysayers—as a successful pediatric surgeon and an accomplished wrestler.

An injured man lays on a long stretch of sand looking up at the stars; his mind races back to previous injuries and illnesses, but he can't seem to get a grip on where he is or why he's there. He soon realizes that he's a long way from home, in outer space.

A woman's chronic illness stirs up long-suppressed conflict within her family. As she helplessly listens to her husband and brother-in-law argue about the best treatments, she wishes she could be there to defend her troubled husband.

After losing a fight, a professional wrestler navigates loss, guilt, and self-worth and explores his love-hate relationship with fighting.

Gloria, a young woman with a fatal cancer, visits her eccentric friend and her equally strange daughter, but her plans are thrown off course when the daughter asks Gloria to kidnap her.