Mixing the mundane with the metaphysical, the pairings of the everyday and the extraordinary in this collection of short fiction yield supernatural results—a young musician perceives another world while drinking coffee, a fairy chronicles his busy life in a sandcastle during the changing tide, a demonic 16th-century chess set shows up in a New Jersey bar, and Charon, the boatman of hell, takes a few days vacation. Storylines both conventional and outlandish reveal humdrum routines as menacing, or imaginary worlds as perfectly familiar. Allusions to authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne reinforce the fantasy tradition in these tales, while understated humor and moments of sadness add a quirky unpredictability. Also included is the previously unpublished novella, "Botch Town," a coming-of-age story about a boy on Long Island whose family and friends live ordinary lives under threats both real and imagined. Each story is followed by a brief afterword that details its genesis.

繁华落尽，生活再度归于平淡，然而昔日犯下的罪孽仍就折磨着这位面相师克雷。如果无法再见到被他毁容的女子，他将无法埋葬旧时自我，瞥见生命全貌。正是这名女子使他经历了从面相师到乡村医师，最后直至旷野猎人的人生转变。现在，她正在彼方隐没之地上那座真实的威瑙城里等待着他。这将是一段漫长而危险的旅途，每一个新的地点都将引出一段令人惊叹的故事。

为拯救陷入昏睡市民，克雷进入了城主德拉奇坦·比洛的记忆世界。那里有一座漂浮在水银海上的岛屿，小岛上矗立着一座阴森的城堡，城堡中住着四位学者模样的怪人。 这座小岛的边界在无时不刻地消融进水银大海之中。现在，连主人公克雷在内的五个人需要跟时间赛跑，他们必须找到打开城堡最上层的大门和逃离岛屿的方法。可就在这时，记忆之岛上忽然冒出了一个叫敏锐族的大脑袋怪物，它试图阻止一切。记忆成为了一片水银汪洋上不断崩解的孤岛，思维则是拥有自由意志，且能进行辩证研究的独立个体。故事变得越发离奇……

铜墙铁壁城是一座可怕的城市，城主德拉奇坦·比洛是个暴君。 城中，头等面相师克雷年复一年不厌其烦地进行面相研究，他通过手术刀、卡尺和其他工具测量研究人的面相和身材，就能区分善恶、判定性格、发现秘密，甚至预测未来。 现在，城主派克雷出城去完成一件看上去微不足道的任务。没想到离开神通广大的城主后，就连最循规蹈矩的克雷也难逃肉体和精神的诱惑。他在这个险象环生的陌生环境里经历了难忘的遭遇，逐渐发现了惊天秘密。这些发现足以动摇他对自我、对面相学，以及对整个世界的看法。