<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Using his unflinching creative gaze, Tony Birch ponders love, loss, and faith in this short story collection. A trio of amateur thieves is left in charge of a baby moments before a heist. A group of boys compete in the final of a marbles tournament, only to find their biggest challenge was the opponent they didn’t see coming. Two young friends find a submerged car in their local swimming hole and become obsessed by the mystery of the driver’s identity. Across 12 blistering stories, <I>The Promise</I> delivers a sensitive and often humorous take on the lives of those who have loved, lost, and wandered.