The thirty-two short stories in this new collection have all won awards or been short- or long-listed in creative writing competitions.

Their subject matter is eclectic and their themes wide-ranging generating a brilliant treasure chest of scenarios: a young woman falls in love with a stuffed polar bear, an old man faces losing his lifelong companion, a decades old unsolved crime rears up, a boy suddenly finds out he can walk on water ...

With a cast of colourful characters that encompasses the tentative young and the resilient old, those who are seeking love and those who have lost it, these are tales of resilience, joy, hope and sorrow - and plenty more.