The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Baxter, Charles. There’s Something I Want You to Do: Stories. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2016.

There’s Something I Want You to Do is a collection of short stories by Charles Baxter. Each story is titled after a specific virtue or sin, and the stories are connected by characters and geography.

“Bravery” follows a woman named Susan. She is a trained psychiatric social worker living in San Francisco. One day, she meets a pediatric doctor named Elijah. They eventually marry, and after their wedding, they go on a trip to Prague. During the trip, they experience some possible underlying tensions in their relationship. Back in San Francisco, they have a son—Raphael. One night, after an argument between Elijah and Susan, Elijah leaves the house. He sees a woman being attacked, and he sustains a minor injury while intervening to protect her. He then returns home, and he and Susan reconcile.

“Loyalty” takes place in Minneapolis. Wes is a car mechanic. He used to be married to a woman named Corrine. They had a son—Jeremy—but Corinne soon became overwhelmed at the prospect of being a mother, so she left town, and she and Wes divorced. Wes soon remarried. About 16 years later, Corinne returns to Minneapolis. She is destitute and is suffering from mental illness. She asks Wes if she can stay in his home for the time being. Wes feels a moral obligation to accept this request. Astrid and Jeremy are not happy with this turn of events, but they recognize the moral necessity of helping Corinne.

“Chastity” takes place in Minneapolis and follows an architect named Benny Takemitsu. He is a friend of Elijah. (Elijah and Susan now live in Minneapolis.) One day, Benny sees a woman standing on a bridge, apparently contemplating suicide. Benny talks to the woman and tries to comfort her. Benny and the woman—Sarah—soon begin dating. They eventually marry and have a child together. Tragically, Sarah dies in a car crash not long after she gives birth.

“Charity” follows a man named Matthew “Matty” Quinn. He is a resident of Minneapolis, but he goes to temporarily live/work in Ethiopia. There, he meets an American man named Harry, and the two men begin dating. When they return to the United States, they maintain a long-distance relationship. One day, Matty becomes addicted to opioids, and his addiction causes him to become destitute. Harry goes to Minneapolis to find Matty. Harry then brings Matty back to Seattle, where Harry lives, and checks Matty into a rehabilitation clinic. The two men do not continue to date each other, but they maintain a platonic friendship as Matty recovers.

“Forbearance” takes place in Tuscany, Italy. Amelia is a resident of Minneapolis, but she is currently staying at a rented villa in Tuscany. She works as a poetry translator. Her work does not pay well, so she relies on her brother to financially support her. Amelia has a nearing deadline, and she is having much difficulty translating a specific poem. She then has a dream in which the long-dead author of the poem advises her to cease work on that poem. The poet recommends another one of his poems for her to translate. After Amelia awakes, she finds the recommended poem and translates it with ease.

“Lust” follows Benny Takemitsu. This story takes place several years prior to “Chastity.” Benny is in his twenties and has been accepted to an architecture school. He is distraught because his girlfriend recently broke up with him. He goes to a casino to distract himself. He then visits his friend, Dennis, who is in a hospital and is dying of a terminal illness. Dennis comforts Benny about Benny’s break-up, and Benny comforts Dennis about his imminent death.

“Sloth” takes place in Minneapolis and follows the previously established character of Elijah. One of Elijah’s patients is a young, terminally ill girl named Da’neesha. Elijah has been overworked recently and has begun to have hallucinations caused by sleep deprivation. One night, on his way home from work, he stops to rest on a park bench. He has a dream in which famous film director Alfred Hitchcock appears to him and speaks about the nature of suspense and storytelling. Hitchcock also says that Da’neesha will have a miraculous recovery form her illness.

“Avarice” follows the same characters as “Loyalty,” but with a focus on Dolores. Dolores is an elderly widow, and she is also Wes’ mother. She lives in Wes’ house, along with Astrid, Jeremy, Corinne, and Lucy (the daughter of Wes and Astrid.) Dolores is a devout Christian. One day, she feels a lump in her breast that might be terminal breast cancer. Dolores thinks of her husband, Mike, who was killed by a drunk driver. The drunk driver was given a long prison sentence, but the prison sentence is now finished, and the driver has been released. Dolores sometimes imagines killing the drunk driver, but she actively dismisses these thoughts in favor of thoughts of peace and forgiveness.

“Gluttony” takes place in Minneapolis and follows the previously established character of Elijah. In this story, Elijah’s son—Raphael—is a high school senior and is dating a college freshman named Donna. One day, Elijah and his wife Susan learn that Donna had become pregnant by Raphael, and had had an abortion. Elijah and Susan accept this information with general indifference. However, Donna’s parents—Eleanor and Herb Lundgren—are devout Christians who view abortion as a sin. Eleanor and Herb arrange a meeting with Elijah and accuse him of failing as a father. Elijah leaves the Lundgrens’ in anger. While driving back towards his own home, he accidentally crashes his car. He is badly injured, but he manages to call 911.

“Vanity,” follows the character of Harry, who previously appeared in the story “Charity.” Harry works as a sales representative for medical devices. He boards a flight to Las Vegas to attend a conference for work. On the flight, he converses with the elderly man next to him. The man’s name is David Lowie, and he is a holocaust survivor. David is married and is going t Las Vegas on vacation with his wife. Harry is deeply moved by his conversation with David, and David gives his email address to Harry. Harry later sends David a friendly and sincere e-mail, but David’s reply e-mail is very brief and terse.

“Coda” is a brief epilogue. This section describes a picturesque day in Minneapolis. Various characters from the story collection are outside, enjoying the good weather. This section has a mostly hopeful and optimistic tone.