Williams, Tennessee

Amanda, a faded southern belle, abandoned wife, and dominating mother, hopes to match her daughter Laura with an eligible "gentleman caller" while her son Tom supports the family. Laura, lame and painfully shy, evades her mother's schemes and reality by retreating to the make-believe world of her glass animal collection. Tom eventually leaves home to become a writer but is forever haunted by the memory of Laura.

Contains "Summer and Smoke," the story of two ill-starred lovers; "Orpheus Descending," the drama of a wandering guitar player and the storekeeper's wife he loves; "Suddenly Last Summer," which tells of a corrupt man and his beautiful victim; and "Period of Adjustment," the story of two young couples on the battlefield of marriage.