What is a WWII fighter plane doing sitting in an old shed in upstate New York? Why do three crows sit on a telephone wire in west Texas, watching an old man go about his work? How will a shadowy figure in an alley behind a shoeshine parlor and barbershop impact the lives of two old men, and why late one snowy Christmas Eve are a man and his grandson sledding down a hill? The answers to these questions are revealed in Quartet. It is a book of four short stories, dealing with four different and diverse human beings in very different circumstances: an ex-USAF fighter pilot who is disillusioned upon his return home after WWII, an old drunk in west Texas, the owner of a shoeshine parlor who finds himself capable of compassion and, finally, a war widow who is taught a life lesson by her son and his grandfather. Their lives, though very different and diverse, have a commonality about themaitas called the human spirit.