A cosmetic surgeon is faced with love, and its imperfections, for the first time. A veteran actor finds himself beholden to his female chauffeur. A recently-divorced salesman opens a jazz bar as memories of an ex-lover riff and swell.

Across seven tales, Haruki Murakami brings his wry humour and quiet sense of the surreal to bear on the lives of men who, in their own ways, find themselves alone in the world.