Erica Winchat, a young writer overwhelmed by the stress of her first book contract, discovers thirteen curious items tangled in the flotsam on the Scottish beach of Traigh Lar. Inspired by the objects, she tells the intriguing story of the owner of each one, uncovering a series of dramatic events -- from a Chicago widow's inspiring visit to Quebec City to a shrimper's daughter facing Tropical Storm Ruby in North Carolina. The thirteenth item, a concert laminate badge, gives rise to a novella Erica calls an Girls, in which the separate stories of four fans of the Sottish rock band Datha unfold in first person culminating in their reunion at a concert in Chicago -- a show where a shooting takes place.