Parlous Passion

A down-and-out saloon singer returns to the mountain town she fled as a distraught teen two decades before and encounters a one-night-stand boyfriend, her late fathers strange legacy, and a chance to redeem her life in the title short story. Other characters, through impulse, indiscretion, malevolence, ambition, pride, self-indulgence, greed and various faultsuncover more than they are prepared to accept. Lack of self-control undoes those who embrace careless living and casual desires. Some characters, having gotten too near the edge, pull back and plumb for subjective strength to recover. For others, self-inflicted adversity is the only way they can salvage lives careening completely toward destruction. Throughout these stories are indelible human beings striving for whatever grace and lovetheir circumstances offer, as well as unforgettable characters jousting with fate even if the deck is stacked against any chance of victory. Most deserve whatever happens to them, as some do not. In each situation they, like people everywhere, place their needs and desires squarely on the line and plunge ahead.