A man laughs and people die. An imprisoned princess refuses the magic that may allow her escape. A private investigator hired by vampires uncovers the source of their poisoned blood supply. A doomed biologist hunts on the edge of the Solar System hunts for alien life while a comet hurtles towards him. Collected together are nineteen science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories from the British Fantasy Award, Aurealis Award and Australasian Shadows Award nominee author Jay Caselberg, with each tale exploring the unnatural conditions of life and the speculations that might arise from them.