This is Harold Griffin's second collection of short stories.  Most of the settings for these accounts are placed in the Montreal area or surroundings, with many of the characters of Irish ancestry. The first narration, "Under This Mantle of Snow", is told from the point of view of a 12-year-old boy from a rural community west of Montreal. He recounts the occurrences in a "typical" school day, the happenings dominated by the dynamic behaviour of a close friend and schoolmate. In two of the other tales, the character Alphonsus is recalled from Griffin's previous short story collection, “fragile boys, fragile men,” continuing to express his political whims and social misadventures. The remaining  stories deal with the day-to-day events of a cast of characters with their own obsessions, dreams, and experiences.