An ATF raid, a moonshot gone wrong, a busload of female cancer victims determined to live life to the fullest – these are some of the compelling themes explored in this funny, sad, brilliantly bizarre debut collection. A lovesick teenage Cajun girl, a gay astrophysicist, a teenage sniper on Los Angeles police payroll, a post-apocalyptic bulletproof-vest salesman – each seeks connection and meaning in landscapes made uncertain by the voids parents and lovers should fill.