A man buckles on his sword and strides to a deadly meeting at dawn.

A girl learns to be a woman in a game of soft words and sharp blades in a desolate landscape.

A boy's charcoal drawing of a woman wants what he doesn't yet know he wants himself.

A porter carries his master up an icy Himalayan pass to confront not only his notion of duty, but of destiny.

Their tales are among twelve stories by DJ Cockburn that span settings from nineteenth century West Africa to a post-apocalyptic Scotland, and follow their characters through trials of deceit, forsaken honour, mystery and occasionally redemption.

All of these stories were previously published in magazines or anthologies of historical, fantasy or science fiction.