Defend a city from terrorists. Say goodbye forever to your one true love. Stand up to a gang of hoods. Play music that touches a stranger. Throw out a mistress on her thirtieth birthday. Discover an ethnicity you forgot you had. From obscure villages in South America to the bustling streets of Manila to the foggy shores of San Francisco and through the unmapped regions of the human heart, Rodney Dakita Garcia's stories ram through cultural barricades, and give not-so-safe passage into new and stunning worlds.