In the title story, a white aspiring professor is convinced she is being followed. No need to panicâshe has a handgun stowed away in her purse, just in case. But when she turns to confront her black male shadow, the situation isnât what she expects. In âThe Rescuer,â a promising graduate student detours to inner-city Trenton, New Jersey, to save her brother from a downward spiral. But she soon finds out there may be more to his world than to hers. And in âThe Last Man of Letters,â the world-renowned author X embarks on a final grand tour of Europe. He has money, fame, but not a whole lot of manners. A little thing like etiquette couldnât bring a man like X down, could it? In these biting and beautiful pieces, Oates confronts, one by one, the demons within us, demonstrating that sometimes, itâs not the human side that wins out.