In a small rural town in the 1930s, three friends — a farmer’s wife, a music teacher and adulteress, and a single huntswoman — drift away from one another as they grow older, choosing unexpected futures for themselves.

A man working at a home for disabled folks reflects on a day in his life.

An extended family gathers in Maryland for Christmas and plays a game of charades. During the game, various areas of family tension are revealed.

A bartender laments that the professional wrestlers in Charlotte are moving to Atlanta, feeling that all excitement is draining from the North Carolina town. At the end of the final match, all possibilities of love and hope drain from his life.

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 friend tries to fix her suburban housewife’s unfulfilling marriage by leading the charge on her friend’s unnecessary home renovation.

In a world where women can have their menstrual cycles removed, a family tries to talk their daughter out of joining a group that embraces their periods.

When he discovers gold near his village, an African man dissatisfied with his lot in life develops new obsessions, flouts old responsibilities, and ultimately loses more than he gains.

A bitter recent divorcee and her partner embark on a cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. Over time, the woman’s disdain for her loud fellow passengers turns to one of admiration and she leaves with a more positive attitude.

Faced with cancer, Mrs. Wilson confronts her impending death. She finds new strength fight her prognosis with a book, The Will to Live, by the philosopher Schopenhauer.