Twenty-eight short stories with a variety of settings, from the turmoil of the inner city to the lonely reaches of the desert. Stories are grouped by themes and show human beings face to face with challenges of many kinds.

Table of Contents:
Detective stories. The invisible man / G.K. Chesterton --
The adventure of the speckled band / Arthur Conan Doyle --
The tragedy at Marsdon Manor / Agatha Christie --
The problem of Cell 13 / Jacques Futrelle. Stories of suspense and terror. The fever tree / Ruth Rendell --
The open window / "Saki" (H.H. Munro) --
The waxwork / A.M. Burrage --
The lottery / Shirley Jackson. Out of this world. The bottle imp / Robert Louis Stevenson --
The fog horn / Ray Bradbury --
The secret / Arthur C. Clarke --
The fun they had / Isaac Asimov. Boy meets girl. The higher pragmatism / O. Henry --
Her first ball / Katherine Mansfield --
The party / Herman Wouk --
The chaser / John Collier. Courageous company. A piece of steak / Jack London --
Fire in the bush / James Warwick --
Death of Red Peril / Walter D. Edmonds --
Sixty acres / Raymond Carver. For lack of a friend. That's what happened to me / Michael Fessier --
Wine on the desert / Max Brand --
The new kid / Murray Heyert --
Raymond's run / Toni Cade Bambara. From one generation to another. The hero / Margaret Weymouth Jackson --
The erne from the coast / T.O. Beachcroft --
The blanket / Floyd Dell --
A worn path / Eudora Welty.