The Magic of Blood

An unnamed narrator refuses to pay his landlord when she raises the rent on him. In the end, his insistence upon maintaining his sense of "self-respect" results in the loss of his house. Consequently, he sends his family off to "visit" his parents, while he searches for a new job.

When an unnamed narrator is visited by an old friend and his companion, he is struck with an epiphany concerning the man he used to be versus the man he has become.

Once Richie meets, and loses, his first love Nancy Flores, the protagonist revels in the ongoing debasement of the boy who stole her from him (Trey).

When two musicians, on their way to Austin, stop at a roadside bar, the narrator finds "true love."

A man meets his great-grandmother in Hollywood, only to then realize that her revered status as a great actress has largely been a fabrication, and that her previous glamor has dissipated with age.

Once a man's car breaks down near Phoenix, he tries to win the approval of his mechanic.

A character named Romero is asked by an old gardener to trim the bushes in his yard. When Romero's shirt is stolen, he blames the gardener.

At a construction site, a man named Smooth rebels against his superintendent.

A son receives a phone call from his distant father who asks him to come pick him up. The father is afraid that his wife has committed suicide.

A customer asks his barber to "wish" for a sack of money, which they will then split between themselves.

When Alex is given the company truck, he mars his reputation via the influence of his friend Carlos.

A construction worker tries to cope with an abusive foreman, while still keeping his job and maintaining his sense of self-respect.

Neighboring couples, in a duplex, fight over the parking places in front of their house.

A man goes to a poetry reading in East L.A., where he meets another man and two young women. The four of them go to a party in West L.A. The narrator takes one of the women home while dreaming of the other one.

An unemployed man and his wife decide to go to a concert. It will be their first big night out since having their child. The day before the concert, they go to pick up the tickets and the narrator takes a photo of his wife and child in front of a Rolls-Royce. The couple ask a neighbor, who is a single mother, to watch their child. The couple prepare for the night down to the last detail but the babysitter never shows up.

A woman walks out on her husband and leaves him alone with their infant son. It is the first time the man is alone with his son.

Around midday, four construction workers get off of a job, go to one of the worker's houses to do heroin, and go to work on another job.

Jake gets into a fender bender with Mariana. He lies about his name, address, and insurance. He tells Mariana he is an actor and walks away with her phone number.

A man named Ray goes to Las Vegas after getting a divorce and getting laid off. A woman named Sylvia takes a trip to Las Vegas with her husband and son.

Jesse and Jesus are two undocumented Mexicans who work for their landlady, a wealthy Mexican woman.

Cowboy Mike Duran is a construction worker convinced he has a reoccurring illness that prevents him from work. He has his photo taken at work for California magazine.

The narrator is bothered by living in the city and the presence of a rat in his and his wife's apartment begins to bother him. He sends his wife and child away. There is a big storm and a power outage. The narrator kills the rat, decides his wife and child should come back, and the city begins to recover from the storm.

FDR Was a Democrat is a story that discusses the old/young dynamic of two workers on a construction job and the validity of judging things at face value.

A family takes a trip to Hollywood with their young son and argues over what will be valuable and important memories for him.

Vic Damone's Music is the story of a young teenager's job in a laundry plant and his first romantic experience with a co-worker.

Getting a Job in Dell City is the final story in The Magic of Blood collection. It begins with a man looking for work in El Paso, Texas. He finds work on a farm outside of town. The story discusses the fragility of relationships between workers, bosses and coworkers.