There comes a moment when one's own universe shatters, and there is no new one in sight: A young woman sits destitute and nearly dehydrated in front of a gas station in Death Valley. When suddenly an Indian stands before her, wanting to save her life, she thinks she is imagining things. But the universe reassembles itself according to its own rules. Soon, the two share a double Whopper, go to the casino together, and eventually end up in one of those shabby motels that only exist in movies. Karen Köhler's stories are imbued with a cheerful melancholy and a dramatic lightness. Her characters are true masters of survival.