In a small town, a resident watches as the people and place change. He recounts eight seemingly disparate stories, but the town connects them all.

In an East Ohio town, a middle-aged man checks into a hotel and explores the various characters, events and surroundings that define small town life.

A rambunctious teenager with an inquisitive mind causes much grief for all his New England family and neighbors when he visits them in the summer of 1914, on the eve of World War I.

A little girl tells the story of how her ceramic figurines come from glazing little people that live in the walls of all houses.

In a faraway future, humans have sunk to the bottom of the food chain, with animals leading society and taking charge of the world. Despite animals' hatred for humans, a smart, observant horse becomes interested in a strange human girl, one who doesn't seem to fit in with her group.

A woman tells a story about a fox who, to great consequences, raises a human child.

A teacher on the Lower East side meets a friendly man with a presence resembling a dead English poet.

In a town so small it can hardly be called a town, a black woman serves a rich white family until a series of horrific events causes the single joy in her life to vanish.

When a farmer proposes a year-long vacation to his wife and son, they each go their separate ways until his personal plans become an embarrassment to the whole family.

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?