The effects on family life of a routine surgical operation to make males nicer - Two mysterious movie producers offer a budding screenwriter his first major break, but they are not what they seem - A hospital cleaner whom no one notices witnesses the astonishing result of a doctor's experiments in metamorphosis - The holiday outing to end all holiday outings, and not everyone can return - Set in a time that is almost today, and a place that is almost anywhere, Starobinets stories are neither science fiction nor magical realism but combine elements of both.