A young girl in a hurry to grow up. A college student who tests the bonds of friendship. A man shackled by a problem he cannot face. An immigrant desperate to secure the American Dream. A woman whose jealousy prompts a shocking act of cruelty. These are some of the characters that populate Mary Langtons first collection of fiction. Readers of Langtons essays are already familiar with her wit and insight. The stories in Dividing Line once again display those qualities, along with an uncommon understanding of the complexities of the human heart.