A couple moves into an upscale neighborhood and are befriended by their next-door neighbors. Exchanges of dinners and hot tub visits encourage a close, and then an intimate friendship; but the
friendship is between the man of one house and the woman of the other. This story, like the others that comprise this collection, probes the most fundamental of human emotions��hat of men and
women who unexpectedly encounter, and then are irresistibly drawn to another; as if by a gravity of mutual desire. But the people who populate these stories are not forlorn singles searching
for a mate; they already have what the searching singles want��hey are partners in stable, long-term relationships. So how do they find themselves being pulled from that secure orbit? A
middle-aged professor seeks to avoid the mistakes that killed his previous marriages, by reviving the thoughtful habits of early love. He sends flowers to his young wife�� pure gesture of love.
Or is it? The stories in this fine collection are written in a spare style, with an elegant, understated humor that will at times cause you to laugh out loud, but will also make you wince at
the recognition of something in yourself��ome appetite, some need, some hunger. These tales follow the antics, misbehaviors, and misadventures of a loveable and disreputable group of characters
who love and need; trust, lust, and betray. When you turn the last page and find yourself crestfallen, there�� no reason not to go back to page one and start again.
