In this astonishing, variegated assortment of tales, award-winning author Paul Di Filippo covers all the themes and modes he is best known for, and ventures into new territory as well.

—Visit a hermetic city where beauty is the only currency.

—Experience a steampunk fable in which nothing is what it first seems, and a young man’s future rests on finding his true father.

—Hang out with the techno-savvy, social-media gypsies who form the new elite in the not-too-distant future.

—Ride a wild ribofunk express train into the badlands where a man’s skin is not his own.

—Experience a counterfactual World War II where victory is achieved by amazing rays.

—Visit a haunted Italian city where the Neolithic and the present live side-by-side, and a hero who falls in love with a goddess and who must battle her ancient foe.

—Visit an Orwellian future redeemed only by the imagination and love of a tortured dissenter.

These are just some of the uncanny tales contained in this collection, incorporating comedy and tragedy, laughter and tears!