Award-winning stories where the glimpse of a future that could be different spurs each protagonist to persevere. Jim Koenig’s stories are often framed in the familiar-a father taking his teen for a first driving lesson; a woman after divorce who needs a new place so she can keep her dog; a boy whose summer job may open his future, if only he can survive his past. But many share an ominous background rumbling: the ‘68 Baltimore riots as backdrop for a story of first love; military service in Viet Nam looming for a student who’s lost his deferment; an infamous raid as prelude to a slave girl’s desperate escape. Swept by life’s river current, will each character find their stepping stone to a new beginning?