Worlds collide, relationships fragment and the dark underbelly of the American dream is exposed. A transsexual prostitute accidentally propositions his own father; a senator's serial infidelities leave him in hot water; two young lovers spend Christmas together high on different drugs. McInerney's characters struggle together in a shifting world where old certainties dissolve and nobody can be sure of where they stand. "How it Ended" is a powerful, funny and moving collection by one of the great storytellers of our time. "Metropolitan, middle-class young people grow up to learn that their triumphs will be hollow and their relationships false. McInerney flourishes amid the desolation: a kind of breezy, upbeat tone informs these dry, sardonic meditations on worldliness" - Esquire".