A compact collection of short tales that examine obsession, irony, and survival in stark, natural settings. One story follows a narrator consumed by an irrational hatred of a perpetually cheerful neighbor and who engineers an elaborate scheme of revenge; others depict a performer who courts danger with wild animals, regional sketches and barroom incidents, contests of greed and pride, and rugged episodes of prospecting and solitary endurance. Recurring features are muscular, direct prose, moral ambiguity, animal companions, and a blend of dark humor, suspense, and grim consequences.