A casual introduction a challenge to a simple game of chess a lovers' reunion a meaningless infidelity from such small seeds Zweig brings forth five startlingly tense tales-meditations on the fragility of love the limits of obsession the combustibility of secrets & betrayal To read anything by Zweig is to risk addiction; in this collection the power of his writing-which with its unabashed intensity & narrative drive made him one of the bestselling & most acclaimed authors in the world-is clear & irresistible Each of these stories is a bolt of experience unforgettable & unique