Contains nineteen short stories, from pure fantasy to hard science fiction. "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O" is a mythic tale of time-transcending, world-hopping humans, monsters, and gods. In "The Very Pulse of the Machine," the stranded surviving member of a Jupiter mission may have discovered the secret of the moon Io--or may be going mad. In "The Dead," the corporate mania for profit reaches a shocking nadir of exploitation. "Mother Grasshopper" explores a planet that might be the weirdest ever to appear in science fiction. In "Radio Waves," a peculiar science-fictional ghost in a strange and frightening afterlife recovers his memory, and regrets it.

Forward: A user’s guide to Michael Swanwick -- The very pulse of the machine -- The dead -- Scherzo with Tyrannosaur -- Ancient engines -- North of Diddy-Wah-Diddy -- The mask -- Mother Grasshopper -- Riding the Giganotosaur -- Wild minds -- The Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O -- Microcosmic dog -- In concert -- Radiant doors -- Ice Age -- Walking out -- The changeling’s tale -- Midnight Express -- The wisdom of Old Earth -- Radio waves.