<p>In this collection's richly imagined title story, our brutal and resourceful protagonist is determined to protect her family from a murderous, shark-ridden world - at any cost. Elsewhere, an old woman uncovers a sinister plot while looking after a friend's plants ("Orchids") , and a girl in the war-torn countryside befriends an unlikely creature ("Keeper of the Glass") . In "Barnstormers," a futuristic flying circus tries to forestall bankruptcy with one last memorable show. At the heart of "Sheila" is the terrible choice a retired judge must make when faced with the destruction of his beloved robotic dog, and "Yuri, in a Blue Dress" follows one of the last survivors of an alien invasion as she seeks help.</p><p>Extending from World War II to the far future, these fifteen stories offer a gorgeously observed perspective on our desire for connection and what it means to have compassion - for ourselves, for one another, for our past ... and for whatever lies beyond.</p>
