In Wald's darkly erotic stories, characters enact the intricate and subtle ways that dominance and submission play a role in their daily lives: a young girl dreams of submitting to a boy who's not interested in controlling her, an ex-convict is so accustomed to serving his cellmate that he cannot adjust to the outside world, a professional dominatrix is beaten at her own game by a psychiatrist, and a student lies his way into the home of an army recruiter in order to become his houseboy.

A subtle, beautifully crafted collection, Meeting the Master presents an accomplished new author whose lyrical economy and ability to see the erotic in everyday life make her stories a riveting pleasure to read.