Phil's wife, Megan, and his daughter, Jilly-bean, are the reasons he gets up bright and early every morning, puts on a suit and tie, and sits in rush hour traffic on his way to a job that has become unbearable. For years, the only way he's managed to get through his workday has been by secretly exchanging an absurd photo of a monkey walking a dog with his wife, hiding it in her purse, or finding it tucked into his briefcase. At work, Phil becomes the point person for the firm's biggest client, Trollamex, a multi-national chemical manufacturer. He's tasked with hiding its deceptive practices and helping the company to dodge its accountability for ruining the lives of thousands of customers. Nearing his breaking point, Phil brings his concerns to his boss, Carl who tells Phil in barely decipherable corporate-speak that he's being overly-dramatic. When the situation escalates, Phil suffers a meltdown, jumps into his car, and takes off on a two-day road-trip where he is thrown out of a club for dancing so badly they think he's drunk, is nearly beaten to a pulp by two guys at a restaurant who call Phil a communist for not taking his kid to Disneyworld, and faces jail time when a raccoon pilfering Cheez-It's in his car attacks a police officer. When he finds the monkey/dog photo in his pocket he experiences a moment of clarity. Phil realizes that he must go home to the family he loves, quit his job, and find a way to take on Trollamex. "Vital Signs" is a cautionary tale of one man's odyssey in search of his humanity and the dangers of running off-leash.

Lyra learns the cost of war in a single, life-altering afternoon. Her homeland has been invaded by an ambitious new king, and she has lost everything -- her farm, her family and her will to live. Enslaved and shackled, she is marched off to serve Temris Ragnyrsbane, a ruthless warlord in the pay of the enemy. But Temris is not all he seems to be, and with him Lyra finds a chance in a million of overthrowing the tyrant who destroyed her entire life.