The short stories in this collection are about contemporary women, the frontiers they must cross to sustain close relationships, and their struggles to balance society's expectations with their own needs. The relationships examined in these stories are with husbands, lovers, parents, children, friends. Present at the same time are other relationships with careers, with the subtleties of corporate life, with parental and spousal obligations, with aging and the passage of time. The recurring issue: What happens when obligations to one's self collide with obligations to others and society's norms?