Outcast: one who is rejected or shunned by society. In these stories, the outcasts are often strangers in their own skins, their identities compromised by themselves or from outside. A boy abused by his father gets lost in the wilderness where he finds refuge in a cave and tells everyone he cohabited with a bear. An elderly man escapes conventional life through his role as a beloved ice cream man with magical stories. Unrelated individuals are interconnected by a discarded mattress that serves as a catharsis for each. Two daughters of wealthy but controlling parents plot their flight for independence. A man looking to improve his family's welfare becomes an inadvertent hit man. A woman seeking respite from her day-to-day life becomes victimized by her ex-husband, a delusional poet. A man who commits an unforgivable act cannot escape his conscience. These among others are lives on the edge. Some seek deliverance, others are woefully oblivious. All are outcasts.