A master of the short form, Gina Berriault stands somewhere between Chekhov and Isaac Babel in style and psychological acuity. Berriault writes real fiction . . . She deepens reality, complements it and affords us the bliss of knowing, for a moment, what we cannot know. --The Nation "A wonderful storyteller and a beautiful writer." --Grace Paley The seven stories--"Infinite Passion of Expectation," "Tea Ceremony," "The Mistress," "The Overcoat," "Stolen Pleasures," "Works of the Imagination," and "Women in Their Beds"--offer a glimpse into the oeuvre of one of the most celebrated voices in American letters.