Collection of ten stories exploring personal crises embedded in the social conflicts of island life, tensions aggravated by natural and human-created disasters. A small boy feels bewildered when a crab pinches him, and he witnesses two policemen beating a teenager. A young girl begs her father not to leave after a huge earthquake. A businessman tells his wife not to worry about large sums he gave to a government official. A journalist investigating the murder of an independentista suspects the CIA is after him. When her estranged husband comes to return their pet dog, a woman hesitates before opening the door.