The twenty-six stories included in this volume are taut, economical in structure, precisely observed and laced with irony. They include some of his most popular and well known stories: A Dog without a Master, a meditation upon a godless existence, The Fur Coat, in which a borrowed garment reveals an adulterous secret, and The Chinese, with its delicate depiction of loneliness and isolation. Shining through all the stories is Söderberg's clear-sighted affection for Stockholm, in all its moods – it is only too easy to see why Söderberg is regarded as one of the foremost chroniclers of the city.