Subtle stories - straight from life. Why does it almost break a father's heart when he puts a pack of fusilli in his cart during his weekly shopping trip? What goes through a twelve-year-old's mind before he steals a kitchen knife from his mother? What prevents a young wife from washing her husband's best shirt? These are everyday scenes, fragile moments and feelings that Graham Swift explores with clear language, like objects made of very thin glass. It is always the seemingly insignificant, almost casual events that put an end to patience, promise a departure, and give new direction to life paths.