Jean Gilkyson, pregnant when her husband was killed, is raising their daughter, Griff, in an Iowa trailer house with yet another brutal boyfriend, when she realizes this can't go on. But the only refuge available is a town in Wyoming where her loved ones are dead and her father-in-law wishes she was too. For a decade he has blamed her for his son's death, choosing to go on living himself largely because his oldest friend otherwise couldn't survive....

Sherlock's phenomenal mental acuity diminishing and the emotional life he had always resisted pushing its way to the surface, the worlds greatest detective is forced to confront the most baffling mystery of his career, that of the meaning and significance of his own inner life.

Matthew is a widowed, world-weary professor living alone in Paris. He sees no meaningful future for himself-until he meets Pauline, a free-spirited young dance instructor. From their first meeting, each provides what the other needs: someone to call family. Even as they both struggle to heal the wounds of their troubled pasts-including Matthew's attempts to reconnect with his estranged children-the bond they form leads them to rediscover the joy that...

"With all his family and friends gone, one-hundred-year-old Murray McBride is looking for a reason to live. He finds it in Jason Cashman, a ten-year-old boy with a terminal heart defect and a list of five things he wants to do before he dies. Together, they race against the limited time each has left, ticking off wishes one by one. Along the way, Murray remembers what it's like to be young, and Jason fights for the opportunity to grow old. But when...

Maurice and Ian are successful, but aging actors. The two are close friends whose conversation generally revolves around theatrical shop talk and the infirmities of other aging actors. Ian is fearful that death is right around the corner, so he agrees to let his niece's daughter, Jessie, move in to his flat to care for him. Jessie is a modern woman in her early twenties. She turns out to be a nightmare for Ian, especially since she is a hard-drinking,...

The luminous portraits in Amazing Men present a diverse cross section of men aged 60 and over, from varying professions, lifestyles, and geographic locations.

"Mr Katō--a curmudgeon and recent retiree--finds his only solace during his daily walks, where he wonders how his life went wrong and daydreams about getting a dog (which his wife won't allow). During one of these walks, he is approached by a young woman. She calls herself Mie, and invites him to join her business Happy Family, where employees act as part-time relatives or acquaintances for clients in need, for whatever reason, if only for a day....

"Lewis Madigan is young, gay, out of work, and getting antsy when he's roped into providing end-of-life care for his insufferable homophobic neighbor, Chester Wheeler. Lewis doesn't need the aggravation, just the money. The only requirements: run errands, be on call, and put up with a miserable old churl no one else in Buffalo can bear. After exchanging barbs, bickering, baiting, and pushing buttons, Chester hits Lewis with the big ask. Lewis can't...

"Villagers like to come to rest and cool down in the shade of a huge, old tree. But when a young traveler decides to join them one day, a rich man on whose land the tree stands demands they leave because he owns the tree and therefore its shade. Thinking fast, the traveler strikes a deal: one that will enable him to outsmart the rich man--and ensure that the villagers will always have access to the shade tree's shade, wherever it may fall. With simple,...