As a surveillance agent watches a Muslim family, he quickly grows from suspicion to attachment. When the father of the family needs help, the agent has to decide between what he is supposed to do and what he wants to do, despite the consequences.

An overly sympathetic woman never allows herself room for hatred— even as her suffocating boss stalks and harasses her.

A man is walking home from his office one afternoon, when he passes a man lying unconscious in the street. As the man goes home and tries to navigate the complications of family life, he considers his own mortality and wonders if he has failed the people he loves.

On the campus of Pembleton College, a fierce debate arises. Should the student body mandate calliagnosia, a neurological imposition that prevents one from seeing and evaluating the beauty of others? Hear what students, professors, lobbyists, and others have to say regarding the matter right before the consequential vote.

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.

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.

A research psychologist visits a peculiar asylum patient who recounts his life story. The patient warns the researcher about how obsession with the pursuit of knowledge can make one lose sight of their humanity until it is unsalvageable.

Faced with the consequences of his actions, a scientist decides to live in fantasy rather than confront the pain he's caused.

A paranoid old woman makes a disturbing discovery that intensifies her fears about being the victim of a crime.

A writer thinks about the not-so-fine moments of his career right before an exposé about his inappropriate conduct toward various women goes live.