EM Forster wrote in Howards End about two families that were very different. One family lived for the outer world and the other family cultivated the inner life. The book is about their efforts to combine the two approaches to life. Forster summed this up with a phrase that has been quoted over and over." Only connect the prose and the passion." This book of stories is about people who are trying to connect prose and passion in the latter parts of their lives.