Within these 14 hilarious and insightful tales of urban life, you’ll meet: Raiford Phelps, an ornithologist who discovers new patterns of animal behaviour when he meets Mary Leibnitz; Benno Morna, a temporary bachelor, free to indulge in TV, junk food, and Greenie Frenzel when his wholesome wife is out of town; Vincent Cadworthy and Guido Morris, whose elegant friendship is suddenly disrupted by Misty Berkowitz; Elizabeth Bayard, whose passion for order and civility does constant battle with her unruly loves. They are buffeted by the pressures of their jobs, imposed upon by their families and their surroundings, and remain ever hopeful of making sense of their lives.