Small everyday stories from New York. People and microcosms of the American metropolis. A Greek-origin livestock farmer in a bar in the Village. A Jewish tea seller from Tashkent on Hudson Street. A preacher at St. Bartholomew's on Park Avenue. An investor from Puerto Rico, who recommends good investment markets to Makrygiannis. Lorna, an acting coach, at the Metropolitan Opera. Poet Louise Gluck at the Public Library. And also, the universities and the city, the freak show of an NBA game, the cinephiles of Manhattan, the niches of contemporary art, a new subway line, how public toilets become landmarks... And many other stories, where the author sometimes observes and sometimes becomes a hero.