This anthology includes the work of numerous authors such as Marge Piercy, Harlan Ellison, S. J. Rozan, Nancy Richler, Moe Prager (Reed Farrel Coleman), Wendy Hornsby, Charles Ardai, and Kenneth Wishnia. The stories explore such issues as the Holocaust and its long-term effects on subsequent generations, anti-Semitism in the mid- and late-20th-century United States, and the dark side of the Diaspora (e.g., the decline of revolutionary fervor, the passing of generations, the Golden Ghetto, etc.).

The stories in this collection include “Trajectories,” Marge Piercy’s story of the divergent paths taken by two young men from the slums of Cleveland and Detroit in a rapidly changing post–WW II society; “Some You Lose,” Nancy Richler’s empathetic exploration of the emotional and psychological challenges of trying to sum up a man’s life in a eulogy; and “Yahrzeit Candle,” Stephen Jay Schwartz’s take on the subtle horrors of the inevitable passing of time.

These works include many “teachable moments” about the history of prejudice, the contradictions of ethnic identity, and assimilation into American society and culture.

Urban crime fighter Filomena Buscarsela is on the trail of a Long Island glass factory that is spewing toxic waste into the water supply. She discovers that it is none other than her nemesis who owns the factory and, armed only with an axe to grind, she knows she must fight dirty in order to clean up the neighbourhood.

First she was a beat cop, then she was unemployed. Now Filomena has apprenticed herself to a New York City P.I. firm. Trouble is she often agrees to take on sticky neighbourhood cases pro bono. She agrees to look into the disappearance of a young illegal immigrant, but when she sees an arrest that almost turned into a shootout with the police, Fil is roped into finding out what went wrong.

When New York City private investigator Filomena Buscarsela takes her teenaged daughter, Antonia, to see their extended family in Ecuador, it's more than a homecoming. Filomena hasn't been back in years, and the trip brings back memories of her previous life as a revolutionary. Before she's even had time to adjust to her new surroundings, though, a priest is murdered--a man who, years ago, saved her life and helped her escape to the United States. Filomena owed him her life, and she vows to find his killer. It's an election year, and the dirty hands of politics seem to be everywhere, perhaps even in this senseless death. Filomena's investigation promises to lead her back to the very people she escaped all those years ago. As the country is wracked by natural and manmade disasters--landslides, floods, food shortages, protests, crackdowns--Filomena becomes a fugitive from the law, racing across the country toward a climactic confrontation in the Amazon jungle. This final installment in Kenneth Wishnia's acclaimed series is rich with the sights, sounds--and dangers--of Ecuador, and offers a compelling look at the provenance of one dynamic heroine.

Filomena Buscarsela returns, having traded in her uniform for the trials of single motherhood. But when the owner of her neighbourhood newsstand is murdered, Filomena doesn't need much encouragement from the dead man's sister to step in.