In this eclectic and intriguing collection of short stories, Govier blurs the boundaries between seemingly disparate worlds and highlights the human desire to rationalize life experiences. Two cottagers mistake the brilliance of a search party’s flares for an alien invasion. A photographer rewrites the past to suit the present by altering his client’s photographs. The Immaculate Conception Photography Gallery, the title story, was a winner of the CBC short story contest, and the book was shortlisted for Ontario’s Trillium Prize. It is extraordinary and absorbing fiction, shot with ideas that resonate in our time.