Parlous Passion

A down-and-out saloon singer returns to the mountain town she fled as a distraught teen two decades before and encounters a one-night-stand boyfriend, her late fathers strange legacy, and a chance to redeem her life in the title short story. Other characters, through impulse, indiscretion, malevolence, ambition, pride, self-indulgence, greed and various faultsuncover more than they are prepared to accept. Lack of self-control undoes those who embrace careless living and casual desires. Some char