In seventeenth-century Delft, a fanatically curious fabric merchant invents the microscope. Even as he neglects and abuses his family, he discovers a new world of life.

A grown man remembers the summer of 1984 when a girl he had a crush on took him on a tour of her haunted house.

George Washington's chef, whose culinary talent is brought alive by magic, reflects on his career back when he was enslaved.

In this modern retelling of the Faust legend, an American baseball player stuck in the minor leagues spends years of his life striving for a .368 lifetime batting average. A series of bets with his manager brings his bargain -- and the meaning of his career -- to the fore.