In Contract with the World, the setting is Vancouver, and the time is the mid-1970s. Told from six different characters' points of view, the novel describes the intersection between artistic motivation, personal fulfillment, and sexual politics. A portrait painter, a sculptor, a sound musician, a would-be writer these characters make choices, as Rule's title suggests, that sometimes leave others out in the cold, and sometimes provide a welcoming embrace.

First published: New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980.