The characters in the story collection TOWER move through their lives with the sense that something is missing. When attempting to fill the void, they discover that the problem isn't what's missing, the problem invariably has to do with a truth they've been trying to avoid. In Landslide, an unemployed father brings home a board game so he can teach his children what is good about American politics. In Tower, a father and daughter head for Chicago to visit the Art Institute and take in a Manet exhibition. While in the city they find a way to express their feelings about the 45th President. Other stories center on gambling: Hialeah and Fortune involve characters who are trying to change the direction of their sputtering lives. While both stories take place in Miami, they happen decades apart yet feature similar traps. The stories are also set in small towns: Akron, Ohio; Steelage, West Virginia; Vicksburg, Mississippi.