Thomas Stazyk's irreverent debut, Identities, objectively explores how individuals' constructed identities determine their worldview and examines the contemporary issues of materialism, corporate greed, and personal identity with startling clarity. Dave Locke just got the call all executives in corporate America dread: the company is going in a different direction, thanks for all of your hard work, but we don't need you any longer. His sense of self and his place in the world shattered, Dave's experience and connections quickly land him a role as a senior partner in a management-consulting...

Ben, Paul, and Ridge were best friends growing up, but after they went off to college, their lives began to diverge. When they reunite at Ridge's twenty-eighth birthday party, they find that if they want to remain friends, they must confront some major differences.

Ridge is materialistic and career focused, and he has a glamorous and rich girlfriend, Julia. But he's discovering Julia's values and priorities don't mesh with those of his friends, and she wants him to choose between his past and a future with her.

Ben's life is completely different from Ridge's. He teaches...