In the collection's marvelous title story, two aging vampires in a sun-drenched Italian lemon grove find their hundred-year marriage tested when one of them develops a fear of flying. In 'The Seagull Army Descends on Strong Beach, 1979,' a dejected teenager discovers that the universe is communicating with him through talismanic objects left in a seagull's nest. In 'The New Veterans,' a massage therapist working with a tattooed war veteran discovers she has the power to heal by manipulating the images on his body. In all, these wondrous new pieces display a young writer of superlative originality and invention.