In the near future, a young mother leaves behind a book for her daughter before she embarks on her space journey to the outer solar system in an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial creatures. Sections from her book are interspersed with her husband's verbal recollections of their love story, which he addresses to their young daughter.

After one of her young low-income students shows up to class disheveled, a female teacher from Chicago makes it her mission to create a strong bond with the girl in hopes it will prevent her from dropping out of school.

A judge notorious for his harsh rulings finds himself conflicted when his beloved daughter begs him to save her criminal husband.

A human undergoes a procedure to transplant her consciousness into a spaceship, though her actions are held under strict protocol. After she befriends a vulnerable child stowaway onboard, she decides to take back control of the ship.

A retired U.S. Army colonel develops an unexpected appreciation for the animal life around him, which leads him to make significant changes to his own life.

A Polish-Israeli produce vendor's son is mystified by his father's kind treatment of a philosophy professor as he slowly learns of the murders in the man's past.

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

After four prisoners escape from the state penitentiary, a sheriff and his posse, including an empathetic deputy and a trigger-happy civilian volunteer, search for them through the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

In New York city, a middle-aged man goes for a late-night drink at a familiar restaurant and provides brief respite to stranger who is waiting for a call about the execution of a man who killed his wife.

In 18th century France, an executioner faces enormous job stress leading up to and throughout the French Revolution. He must choose between his beloved wife and his job, and he struggles to leave the profession that was his father's before him.