diff --git a/Diff.cabal b/Diff.cabal
index 155ef8b..2866881 100644
--- a/Diff.cabal
+++ b/Diff.cabal
@@ -62,3 +62,14 @@ test-suite diff-tests
     , QuickCheck
     , test-framework
     , test-framework-quickcheck2
+
+benchmark simple
+  default-language: Haskell2010
+  type: exitcode-stdio-1.0
+  main-is: bench/bench.hs
+  build-depends:
+      Diff
+    , base >= 3 && <= 6
+    , criterion
+    , deepseq
+    , random
diff --git a/bench/bench.hs b/bench/bench.hs
index c691237..a24391e 100644
--- a/bench/bench.hs
+++ b/bench/bench.hs
@@ -1,13 +1,20 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE StandaloneDeriving #-}
+-- {-# OPTIONS_GHC -Wno-orphans #-}
+
 module Main where
 
 import Criterion.Main
 import Control.DeepSeq
+import GHC.Generics
 import System.Random
 
 import Data.Algorithm.Diff
 
-instance NFData (Diff a) where
-    
+deriving instance Generic (Diff a)
+
+instance NFData a => NFData (Diff a)
 
 main :: IO ()
 main = doBenchMarks 37
diff --git a/src/Data/Algorithm/Diff.hs b/src/Data/Algorithm/Diff.hs
index 9288954..43328cb 100644
--- a/src/Data/Algorithm/Diff.hs
+++ b/src/Data/Algorithm/Diff.hs
@@ -189,35 +189,29 @@ canDiag eq as bs lena lenb = \ i j ->
 -- 'addsnake' is applied to each candidate immediately to extend it along any
 -- available sequence of matching elements.
 --
--- The resulting candidate list interleaves the 'F' and 'S' successors of each
--- wave front node. The head ('F' successor of the first node) is kept as-is, and
--- 'selectBestDLFromPairs' is applied to the tail — pairing each 'S' successor with the 'F'
--- successor of the next wave front node. When this function is iterated from a
--- single-node seed (as in 'ses'), each such pair always lies on the same
--- diagonal: an 'F' edge advances to the next higher diagonal while an 'S' edge
--- retreats to the next lower one, so the two members of each pair straddle the
--- same diagonal from opposite sides.
+-- The resulting candidates are merged pairwise: the vertical successor of each
+-- node is paired with the horizontal successor of the next node in the wave
+-- front. When this function is iterated from a single-node seed (as in 'ses'),
+-- each such pair always lies on the same diagonal: an 'F' edge advances to the
+-- next higher diagonal while an 'S' edge retreats to the next lower one, so the
+-- two members of each pair straddle the same diagonal from opposite sides.
+--
+-- Precondition: The node list must be non-empty.
 dstep
   :: (Int -> Int -> Bool) -- ^ Diagonal predicate
-  -> [DL]                 -- ^ Wave front of D-paths at edit distance D
-  -> [DL]                 -- ^ Wave front of D-paths at edit distance D+1
-dstep cd dls = hd:selectBestDLFromPairs rst
-  where (hd:rst) = nextDLs dls
-        -- Extend each node by one edit step in both possible directions
-        -- and then follow any available snake from the resulting position.
-        nextDLs [] = []
-        nextDLs (dl:rest) = dl':dl'':nextDLs rest
-          where dl'  = addsnake cd $ dl {poi=poi dl + 1, path=(F : pdl)}
-                dl'' = addsnake cd $ dl {poj=poj dl + 1, path=(S : pdl)}
-                pdl = path dl
-        -- Select the furthest-reaching candidate from adjacent pairs of nodes. 
-        -- Note that candidate pairs are always on the same /k-diagonal/ by construction
-        -- at call site (in 'ses' where it iterates starting from a single node
-        -- wave front), meaning that each compared pair @x@ and @y@ are such that:
-        -- @(poi x - poj x) = (poi y - poj y)@
-        selectBestDLFromPairs [] = []
-        selectBestDLFromPairs [x] = [x]
-        selectBestDLFromPairs (x:y:rest) = furthestReaching x y:selectBestDLFromPairs rest
+  -> [DL]                 -- ^ A non-empty wave front of nodes at edit distance D
+  -> [DL]                 -- ^ A non-empty wave front of nodes at edit distance D+1
+dstep _ [] = error "dstep: Cannot perform expansion on an empty list of nodes"
+dstep cd (dl:dls) = hStep dl : stepAndMerge dl dls
+  where
+    hStep node = addsnake cd $ node {poi = poi node + 1, path = F : path node}
+    vStep node = addsnake cd $ node {poj = poj node + 1, path = S : path node}
+    -- Merge vertical step of previous node with horizontal step of next node,
+    -- selecting the furthest-reaching candidate for each shared k-diagonal.
+    stepAndMerge :: DL -> [DL] -> [DL]
+    stepAndMerge prev [] = [vStep prev]
+    stepAndMerge prev (next:rest) =
+      furthestReaching (vStep prev) (hStep next) : stepAndMerge next rest
 
 -- | Follow a /snake/ from the current position of a 'DL' node.
 --