These stories, which vary in theme but all bear the mark of Peter Høeg's graceful and thoughtful prose, are set in eight separate corners of the world. On this fateful night, a young mathematician encounters Joseph Conrad during a train ride through the war-torn Congo in "Journey into a Dark Heart;" a pair of star-crossed lovers in Lisbon dance through their memories of the Danish ballet in "Hommage to Bournonville;" a seaside community struggles with the threat of a smallpox epidemic in "Pity for the Children of Vaden Town;" and in "The Verdict of Ignatio Lanstad Rasker," an idealistic young writer is prosecuted for his homosexuality by the conservative Lord Chief Justice of Denmark.

Illuminating, acrobatic, and enriched with historical fact and foreshadowing, the stories in Tales of the Night should "consolidate Høeg's reputation as one of the world's most versatile authors" (Seattle Times).