David Walton's collection of eight stories, five of which are set in Pittsburgh, offers darkly humorous meditations on modern life. In Skin and Bone an unexpected, strange, and ultimately tragic encounter between a karate student and his instructor raises questions about guilt and responsibility. The Sundeck touches on sex, loneliness, and the difficulty for people to meaningfully connect. In the title story, a dinner party attended by a struggling academic begins with the toast No more angst or ennui only to end in hostility and disaster. Evening Out was the first book to win the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction.