Five tales include "Lord Beaupré," which concerns a bogus engagement; "The Real Thing," an exploration of the tension between reality and artistic technique; "The Middle Years," recounting an ailing author's reflections on a lifetime of artistic achievement; "Georgina's Reasons," in which a defiant young woman makes a secret marriage; and the ghost story "Sir Edmund Orme," which features a specter who haunts a young woman to ensure that she doesn't repeat her mother's mistake.