While witnessing his boys of his neighbor's family commit chaotic damage to the people of the neighborhood, a father continues to show kindness. The neighbor's family faces their own drama until they are no longer a part of the neighborhood.

A rat moves into a young squirrel's peaceful neighborhood and refuses to respect the space. Unable to force the rat to move away, the other animals watch as more and more rats come to live in the area of town they once avoided.

In a small suburb in the 1940s, a nosy neighbor's aggressive kindness and anonymous letters have some unintended consequences as they provoke violent responses.

An unnamed narrator muses about the layout and the mundane emptiness at a neighborhood intersection. A man later gets out of a streetcar at the intersection and enters one of the brick buildings.

An investigator stays in a family home in order to become acquainted with the family and all their intricacies while he investigates the case of family's adult son, who has threatens to kill the president of the United States to spare the lives of those involved in Vietnam.

A father and his family witness the chaotic collapse of their neighbor's family, and make small efforts to intervene.

During World War II, a boy moves to the big city from agrarian Alabama. Astounded by the lack of greenery, he convinces a local gang to build a farm, but not everyone agrees with his plan.

A nosey man living in a suburb regularly interacts with several neighbors but keeps his distance from one woman, whom he witnesses abuse her children verbally and physically. When the situation escalates, however, he must decide whether or not to intervene.

In a small university town in the 1960s, a mysterious couple moves into the attic and keeps to themselves, leaving the neighbors to wonder what goes on behind closed doors. Through gossip and rumors, the neighbors witness the slow unraveling of Mr. Markham's life.

As the era of American farming comes to an end, it proves more difficult than expected for one young man to convince an old woman that she should leave the land for more fruitful prospects.