A seventh-grade English teacher copes with the recent death of her father and assigns a memoir that her students love reading. However, their parents question her for her pedagogical choices because of the swear words and provocative topics in the book.

In the far future, a human veteran adopts a war soldier, developing an unlikely friendship that helps each of them cope with the trauma of combat.

In a 20th century American town, a young man spies on a decisive duel between his neighbor and her son.

Visiting Tokyo in the 1980s, a Swedish aspiring civil rights attorney from Minnesota spends her last night with a Japanese lover.

A woman dealing with conflicting emotions resorts to deliberately putting herself in danger to learn to value the life she's been given - but these unorthodox methods leave her more desperate than ever.

As an orphaned Floridian boy grows up to become a mathematician with a healthy family of his own in the 20th century, the memory of his unhappy father lingers, threatening his peace of mind.

When the devoted wife of a Yiddish writer recruits a young man to translate her husband's work in 1960's New York, the young man must contemplate his priorities and mission in life.

A college professor goes on a wilderness retreat to better connect with some ideas of American Literature, but his plan backfires and turns into a learning moment for his students.

As a young Japanese man reflects on significant moments in his life, a stunning musical encounter leads him on the path to self-acceptance.

A German hotel owner in Hawaii experiences a jolt of excitement in his life when a young woman who loves literature and detests flights as much as he does checks in his hotel with her husband.