In ‘Quiet,’ Tom visits Erin—a friend and former coworker living overseas. Despite wanting a deeper relationship, Tom restrains his amorous feelings. But when Tom learns that two of his male coworkers have been intimate with Erin, his patience evaporates—and he commits an act he can never take back.

As editor of literary journal McSweeney's, Dave Eggers has been partly responsible for a rejuvenation of short fiction in the USA. At the same time he has also developed his own unique, funny, endlessly inventive take on the short story form.