In mid-20th century Paris, a young woman ends her engagement, hoping to be with another man. When things do not go as planned, however, the young woman struggles to meet both her own wants and desires and her parents' expectations.

After a sudden breakup, a college sophomore battles depression and revisits his late father's annotated book over Christmas break.

A Vietnamese near-centenarian living in New Orleans reminisces on wars he experienced, ideas he held, and countries he saw during the 20th century with the help of the ghost of an old friend: Ho Chi Minh.

After being offered a 100,000 pound advance to write a book on the twentieth century, a historian/writer struggling with depression takes to London to begin this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

A mentally ill, medicated man whose life has been wracked with death is able to regain control over a small portion of his life when the ashes of a loved one wind up in his possession.

After crash landing on the moon, a young astronaut must continuously walk towards the setting sun in order to power the solar panels that will keep her alive.

In a realistic sci-fi world, a mystery writer nurtures his robot servant's interest in becoming a writer as well, paying for a series of expensive upgrades such that the robot can understand spelling, grammar, plot, human behavior, and humor. However, when the robot's talent threatens to surpass his own, the egotistical writer demands the robot's mind be restored to its original state.

During World War I, a librarian has her heart broken by a soldier overseas and she tries to overcome her sadness.

A young librarian with two dead parents moves across the country and meets an idealistic but shallow man. When their relationship falls apart, he urges her to give more of herself to the community, ignorant of the ways in which she's had to give so much away already.

A twentieth-century ranch caretaker in Montana finds his peace of mind disrupted when the ranch is sold to a corpulent gay Wall Street banker.