In a convent, a young nun’s internal war between desire and religion comes to a head when she makes a new, devious friend.

A rational New York accountant gets into a dramatic dispute with his mother over the veracity of a tabloid conspiracy theory.

At a rundown hotel in tropical South America, the only resident cycles through a fever dream of hazy memories and repetitive conversations with his friend, the bartender.

Under the cover of secretarial work in a psychiatric unit, the protagonist records patients’ dreams in a logbook dedicated to Johnny Panic, believing themself a disciple to the omniscient master of fear and creator of all dreams. When the protagonist spends the night at the unit for unfettered access to patient records, the clinic director takes them away to a secure room for electroshock therapy.

An unemployed writer receives a Christmas card from a woman he knew briefly three years ago - the unexpected overture triggers him into sending a torrent of letters filled with confessions of love and declarations of indifference.