A retired college president is determined to best a young beachcomber' A store manager accuses a boy of shoplifting' A tour guide strikes a bargain with an enterprising orphan' A boy recovering from a broken arm befriends an elderly womanin an old folks' home' A widow and her son seize an opportunity presentedby a pair of antiques dealersIn each of these extraordinary short stories from the perceptive pen of E. L. Konigsburg, a chance meeting between two people casts a shadow on what things have been and what they can become, and changes a life forever.