The scary, lush, and complex stories of a seminal fantasy author are presented in this retrospective collection. In "The Unicorn Tapestry, " a therapist finds herself transformed by a client who may be a vampire. A young girl discovers the pitfalls of puberty and an animal nature in "Boobs", an unlikely shaman finds protection in an unwilling ally in "Peregrines", and in the dark retelling of the two fairy tales "Beauty and the Opera or The Phantom Beast, " a tempestous maestro meets his equal. Also included are two of Charnas's essays, "Art Is Long, " an insightful and entertaining look at the unusual process of writing a four-book trilogy, and "The Stagestruck Vampire, " an autobiographical look at the author as a playwright.