Paraíso

Daniel, Sam(antha), and Peter are three old friends living together in a Los Angeles loft. Being gifted with a great cooking skill and good looks, Daniel uses his talent to bring home one beauty after another. As he gives public cooking lessons, there is enough female supply for his wishes. One day, a TV producer takes part in one of his courses and watches him work; then she offers him his own show, "Cooking for Two". Daniel is more than happy and accepts gratefully. The three friends promise one another that not even money can tear them apart. But the show accidentally develops into a new direction: female watchers pour out their problems on-air by telephone, while Daniel has to give partnership-counseling together with cooking recipes, and the subjects seem to be closely related. Daniel, being wealthy and famous, is now about to marry his new love Jacqueline when he finds out about some things going on behind the scenes that concern him, her, his old friends Sam and Peter, and the shifted relationships among them.

Geordie is a very small boy who feels that the girl he loves is ignoring him because of his size. He decides to take a correspondence course in body-building. At 21, Geordie becomes one of the tallest and strongest men in Scotland.

Min, the owner of a dockside hotel, is forced to make difficult decisions about the future of Nancy, the young woman she took in as an infant.

Lucy, a disillusioned office clerk who lives in a dysfunctional relationship with her slovenly partner Paul, is surprised to find herself on the cusp of a none-too-secret affair with her new work colleague, Daniel. The thrill of the chase for a shred of affection takes her mind off her problematic life but she's not sure that she'll ever leave Paul, or that sex with someone else is the true answer to her problems.

Gideon Dobbs is a young, simple-minded man who checks into a retirement home where he finds the residents have lost their lust for life. Through his innocence he changes their lives and teaches them that each day is a precious gift.

An anthology comprising tales in modern Japan.