Elizabeth Marx

A small boy squashing an insect sets in motion a series of events, large and small, that include a lost restaurant reservation, a drunken fender-bender, disruption of basic cable television service, and more than one relationship falling apart. One person's disaster becomes another's boon, and vice versa--because a man loses his job, a young girl becomes the lead ballerina in the school play, which in turn causes the death of a pet pig. These characters weave around Los Angeles and each other as seemingly mundane events fall into place, putting them on a collision course with a common fate and one heroic act of competence.

On Skeet’s twelfth birthday his older brother Randy buys him his first surfboard. Suddenly his summer turns to the endless search for the perfect wave, wild times and beach parties and eventually, finding his own daring adventures when Randy’s attention turns to a girl. Beyond his wildest dreams, Skeet is taken under the wings of surfing legend Jim Wesley who gives Skeet first-hand lessons in hot-dogging. Meanwhile, Randy, still dealing with the loss of his father and trying to fill his shoes, is jealous of Jim’s influence on Skeet and isn’t thrilled when Jim begins a relationship with their single mom. Tangled by the conflict between his brother and his newfound father figure, Skeet retreats to his room while longing to surf.

A grieving doctor is being contacted by his late wife through his patient's near death experiences.

A Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters has lost his taste for food but not for life.

An actor's promotional appearance at a new shopping centre is ruined when a popular rival shows up at a nearby store.