A new collection of short stories in which James Purdy produces the same 'magnificent simplicity' that Edith Sitwell extolled when reviewing his earlier collections. 'There is never a sentence too much, never a word too much.' From the great opera star and her talking cat to the young girl with her fire-breathing dragon; from two black ladies in retirement and their mysterious tenant - a world-renowned film star - to young illegal Mexicans and their 'cracked' landlord, Purdy shows himself again to be the master of the short story.