As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.

Store security guard Pietro spends his days catching shoplifters, his weekends visiting his children who are in custody of his ex-wife, and his nights thinking about new ways to flirt with the store's makeup consultant. His malaise psychosomatically manifests itself in nosebleeds, outbursts of anger, visions, etc. One day, he sees a young Gypsy girl steal something from the store and lets it slide: he can't explain why, but she caught his eye. Pietro and Pabe – that's her name – warily start to hang out, knowing each other more and more, until something begins to blossom in them. Could their shared dream for a new, more compassionate life finally be at their fingertips?

For 20 years, Rikard Viking Flinga was in Texas' harshest prisons, convicted of murder. Rikard Viking Flinga is a Swedish citizen but has never been to Sweden. But in early March 2000, he was transferred there to start a new life.

A suicidal man forces his bartender to carry out his death wish through a life-defining conversation.