When a young boy witnesses an odd event from the window of his small-town house, he begins to doubt the stability of the world around him.

In intense discussion a group leader ponders aloud, asking why hermits hide and what defines outcasts, among other cerebral queries. A group of friends discusses the oddities they have seen and perceived in their lives leather-clad hermits and criminal astronauts among them. They debate the purpose of hermitage, the classification of outcasts, and the purpose of their own reflections.

When a woman finds her purse stolen, she retraces the steps of her eventful day only to realize that the encounters, and her life as a whole, are empty and purposeless.

A young woman recounts three times in her life when she felt emotions of an unexplainable transcendent love: watching a ballet for the first time, making eye contact with an attractive librarian in high school, and listening to an old professor lecture during night classes at a university.

An author discusses with his friend the best way to write about a poor aunt. Their words take on a new power when he manifests a literal poor aunt on his back and draws in spectators.

A wary husband reluctantly allows an old, blind friend of his wife’s to visit their home, prompting an unlikely connection between the two men.

A young woman watches jealously as her lover devotes more time and attention to his blind friend. As the friend drives a wedge between them, the woman feels helpless to stop him.

On a road trip from Ann Arbor to Buffalo, a young man stops in Cleveland and meets a whole host of characters who, like the pseudonyms they've chosen, aren't quite what they seem.

A five-year-old girl and her mother go into hiding with some less-than-savory friends at an upstate New York cabin. While there, the girl sees the ghosts of a past tragedy and, for the first time, confronts the insecurity and inexplicability of her own life.

A father facing mental and physical debilitations has his sights set on capturing a drop of sunlight to bring joy to everyone in his small hometown. Despite his good deed, the town finds it necessary to deliberate: is this man an alcoholic, mentally ill, or a criminal?