Ten years after the publication of Les gens fidèles ne font pas les nouvelles, Nadine Bismuth returns to the short story, a form that made her name and earned her great success.

In this collection, she offers a series of portraits of modern-day life that combines penetrating analysis and infectiously delightful characterization. Meet bachelors looking for their true love, the needy wife, the young woman desperate to keep her freedom, and others aching to lose it – a full pageant of characters that fills these stories with humour, derision, and a great depth of feeling.

Nadine Bismuth revisits her favourite themes: the search for love and emotional commitment. Are these ideals still even possible in an era where things move so quickly and where individuals generally win out over couples?