The river runs between. Along the road derelict elm trees rot between salt-eaten maples. The road crews don't come out here anymore to cut the branches back. The maples arch over the road, their trunks nicked by plows or gashed by lightning, lichened and molding. The road runs from nowhere to nowhere.
People live there.
Once the new Route 7 and its shopping plaza are built, however, travelers bypass the town and his business begins to fail. Although he confronts the change with optimism, one day he loses all hope. Through the voices of Seige, Red, Dave, and Maria the reader comes to understand and, perhaps, sympathize with the stagnant town of self-described losers and the contented elderly farming couple who were there before any of the others. All of the stories in this collection take place in New England and are unified by a sense of individual and communal identity. A strong sense of belonging is also prevalent in the stories.