Introduction / Robert Crais -- The Hilt / Tom Andes -- The Bridge partner / Peter S. Beagle -- Filament / K. L. Cook -- The Funeral bill / Jason DeYoung -- Fifty minutes / Joe Donnelly and Harry Shannon -- Man on the run / Kathleen Ford -- The Other place / Mary Gaitskill -- Safety / Jesse Goolsby -- Trafficking / Katherine L. Hester -- Soul anatomy / Lou Manfredo -- The Good samaritan / Thomas McGuane -- Looking for service / Nathan Oates -- Dog on a cow / Gina Paoli -- Vic primeval / T. Jefferson Parker -- Hard truths / Thomas J. Rice -- Local knowledge / Kristine Kathryn Rusch -- Icarus / Lones Seiber -- Trafalgar / Charles Todd -- Half-lives / Tim L. Williams -- Returning the river / Daniel Woodrell.