A collection of five short tales: The Veteran: On a grimy sidewalk in a defeated neighborhood, an old man is beaten to death. When a cop investigates, he finds two killers and a startling legacy of honor. The Art Of The Matter:  In a prestigious London art gallery an impoverished actor is swindled out of a fortune – until an eccentric appraiser hatches a delicious scheme for revenge. The Miracle: On his way to the violent spectacle of the race for the Palio, a traveller listens enthralled to a stranger’s tale of a ghostly nun and a quiet miracle amidst the horrors of World War II.   The Citizen: A secret department of HM Customs and Excise learns of a massive consignment of drugs on its way into Heathrow. Whispering Wind: The sole survivor of a famous massacre returns to claim the love of his live and old triumphs over new in a savage manhunt in the American wilderness.