A young and ingratiating assistant to a movie star makes a blunder that puts his boss and a major studio at grave risk. A couple hires a partner for a threesome to rejuvenate their relationship after the birth of their child. An assistant at a prestigious literary journal reconnects with a middle school frenemy and finds that his carefully constructed world of refinement cannot protect him from his past. In these and other stories, Tom Bissell vividly renders the complex worlds of characters on the brink of artistic and personal crisis—writers, actors, and other creative types who see things slightly differently from the rest of us. Surreal, poignant, squirmingly awkward—and always just a little bit off—this collection is a brilliant new offering from one of the most versatile and talented writers in America today.