'A retired college president is determined to best a young beachcomber ' A store manager accuses a boy of shoplifting ' A tour guide strikes a bargain with an enterprising orphan ' A boy recovering from a broken arm befriends an elderly woman in an old folks' home ' A widow and her son seize an opportunity presented by a pair of antiques dealers In each of these extraordinary short stories from the perceptive pen of E. L. Konigsburg, a chance meeting between two people casts a shadow on what things have been and what they can become, and changes a life forever.