Imagine a book. Imagine that you open it and find a letter addressed to you.
It is a proposition. A job offer.
You are invited to someone’s house (no name is given, only initials) to discuss the terms. For Charles Rumpole Stoddard, the terms seem simple enough. Meet Q. N., have a fine meal, then examine a private library of priceless, rare books on a raw November night. Sounds intriguing.
The job is yours. What’s the catch? You must read ten stories by dawn. Is that all? You will become the caretaker of the rare souls collection. The job of a lifetime.