In this collection of his stories and plays, Charles Deemer writes of characters typically struggling with changing values in an uncertain world: Todd in The Half-Life Conspiracy, a playwright who comes to the premiere of his one-act play only to discover that it is being directed by his ex-wife, who left him for another woman (the very subject of his bitter one-act play). Thomas in Famililly, who braces to tell his traditional, dying father that he will be raising his son not with his wife but with his male soul mate. Lester in The Man Who Shot Elvis, who many years after the fact is still dealing with a sense of loss from when black rhythm-n-blues turned into white rock-n-roll. Included is this anthology: Famillily which won the 1997 Crossing Borders international new play competition; The Idaho Jacket which was selected as a Roll of Honor story in Best American Short Stories 1974; and Christmas at the Juniper Tavern, an ACE award winner for its presentation on public television and called "an Oregon classic" by Northwest Magazine. Praise for the writing of Charles Deemer: "One of Oregon's most precious natural resources." —Jonathan Nicholas, The Oregonian "Oregon's most important playwright." —Paul Pinterich, Northwest "[Deemer] asks questions about the nature of people's lives, their relationships and their values when something out there forces change." —Kathleen L. Reyes, Stepping Out Northwest