This book is an eclectic compilation of nine short stories of different genres. It includes: 'The Grief of Lawrence Gould' - a tale of ghostly events that plague a man suffering with the death of his wife; 'Masks' - where a young protege of the curator of the Capponi Library, Italy, is kidnapped; 'The Blockade Runner' - a science fiction story charting the exposure of high-level corruption; 'Silk' - a horror tale featuring a lurking aberration of nature; 'Hideous Humanity' - a vitriolic and outrageous polemic of Western 21st Century Society, featuring a man who has reached the end of his patience; and more.