and

Ok - I may as well extend the ever-expanding range of contextual interpretations.
My first impression - that these people are effectively 'strangers', brought together by circumstances, perhaps extraordinary and possibly adverse, which facilitate these moments of intimacy. I imagined something like an aid mission or relief operation, but I'm probably way off here.
The use of 'and' in series certainly helps generate a sense of anticipation/excitement and, I guess, a plethora of potential inferences which could easily overwhelm an obsessive llike me, so I'll leave it there and run for cover.