How does a young girl react when she is caught between the rich, sheltered world of her family, and the ugly reality of poverty and death in the outside world? What happens when a family is broken up because the children feel they must leave home to find a better life abroad? How does a boy cope with his father's overwhelming ambition for him? These are some of the questions dealt with in the eight stories in this collection. The stories, by important modern authors, have been specially edited for upper-intermediate and more advanced students of English. Vocabulary explanations and notes are provided in order to help comprehension.