This fine collection of short fiction tells of the turning points, unsettling recollections, and ambiguous boundaries of winning and losing. The novelette "Audition" takes a trombonist through the intense preparation and audition for a major symphony orchestra. In "Dream Date," a middle-aged man seeks out a high school girlfriend, with unexpected results. "Meet not Cute," another story with a musical background, describes a relationship through a series of odd and highly memorable encounters. "Alicia" is a lonely girl in a mountain village who yearns for escape and is given the opportunity...