Finch stole his first car when he was a nimble twelve-year-old. Hundreds of cars later, he slips behind the wheel of an emerald-green Benz and takes his chances in the night, picking up a passenger along the way. "The Quiet" is part of Michael Christie's critically acclaimed short-story collection, The Beggar's Garden.

The Beggar's Garden follows a diverse group of characters, from a bank manager to a drug addict to a retired Samaritan, a web designer, and a car thief, as they drift through each other's lives in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Michael Christie's darkly funny debut collection won the Vancouver Book Award; it was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

HarperCollins brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperCollins short-stories collection to build your digital library.