The grid is closed, yet the elephant has vanished, to the dismay of the entire city. Only one person suspects what has happened: a young, lonely man who works in the marketing department of a kitchen manufacturer and shares his perceptions with a journalist. A late-night bout of hunger and a recklessly planned crime end up unfolding very differently than intended, so differently that they experience an unexpected resurrection years later. A woman in the best yet most tedious circumstances recognizes a thrilling gift in her own insomnia. Time and again, a gap opens up for Murakami's melancholic figures in the fabric of everyday life, into which a deep, life-changing meaning seems to seep. Tales of unheard events and enchanting coincidences, as if sent by an invisible hand.