The first story in the collection, "Semley's Necklace," was actually the eighth story she sold; Le Guin calls this "the most characteristic of my early science fiction and fantasy works, the most romantic of them all." When Semley returns from her relativistic journey, she brings home her family's necklace in triumph only to find that her husband has died in the war, for "he had little armor for his body, and none at all for his spirit." Semley gives the necklace to her now-grown daughter and flees to her husband's grave. In her quest, Semley has learned resolution and triumph, and now she understands regret for desiring her family's rightful treasure, which had been lost in her grandmother's time. She had thought to leave her husband and child for only a few days, and is devastated to learn that her journey lasted years.

Le...