Merfolk meet humans and get strange glimpses of the drylander world in this new collection. The merfolk who live off the coasts of Breadcove Bay and Agratica follow their own ways of doing things. They regard their own civilizations as superior to humans. They take hierarchy seriously but love to have a good time. And they are generally careful when encountering humans: a merfolk never knows quite what to expect when dealing with the drylander kind. But occasionally, the merfolks' carefulness slips. They encounter a random human due to curiosity, or chance, or by from being assigned as work partners at university .