Chancestal - or almost random meetings, programmed by fate and leading us to banal everyday dramas or to great personal changes - this is the most acute mystery that Ali Smith occupies the attention of in the novel “By Chance”. To try to solve this riddle, the author uses various literary “keys” depending on the character of the character - where there is a stream of consciousness, where there is poetic creativity, where there is almost detective intrigue. Outwardly prosperous, but torn apart by internal contradictions, a family accidentally takes into its fold either a traveler or an adventuress, who turns their life into an unexpected, dangerous and delightful adventure.