Life isn't easy in Bright's Crossing, the Vancouver Island town where these short stories are set. The locals make their living in the forests, the mines and the ocean; and it is rich strangers in far-off cities who get the profits. This collection of stories by one of Canada's best-known writers takes an honest, unflinching look at life in Bright's Crossing, through the eyes of eleven women with unforgettable stories. Like women everywhere, these characters have homes and jobs and friends. They have money problems and car problems and family problems. They work as waitresses and lawyers, fisherwomen and computer hackers. They are also the lifeblood of Bright's Crossing - the ones who look after the gomers and lugans and duck-whallopers, who raise up the children and stepchildren and grandchildren, who see the community through the worst of it, who celebrate the best of it. All of them are determined to live a better life, and they pursue it with the help of a strong will, a sense of humour, and a little bit of magic.

Pat -- Bobbi -- Lizzie -- Louella -- Betty -- Peg -- Frances -- Doreen -- Cheryl -- Joanne -- California.