A labyrinth maker flees Constantinople to plague-ridden Barcelona, with plans for building a library impervious to the destruction of time. A strange gentleman tempts Cervantes to write a book, each page of which could prolong the life of the woman he loves. And Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí reluctantly travels to New York on a voyage that will determine the fate of an unfinished masterpiece. Much as he has in his Cemetery of Lost Books series, Carlos Ruiz Zafón uses these 11 stories to create a mysterious world where life and literature intersect in surprising ways.