A collection of works by Honoré de Balzac, primarily short stories, is set during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte and is compiled in this volume. The focus is on the thrilling crime story "A Dark Affair," which tells of a finely woven political intrigue against the future emperor, intertwined with an aristocratic conspiracy against him. In "A Passion in the Desert," the reader learns of a wondrous adventure set against the backdrop of Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt. A French soldier, fleeing from his Arab pursuers, hides in a rocky cave, where he becomes the sleeping companion of a female panther, who, despite being prepared for a torturous fate, gradually becomes receptive to his caresses through gentle strokes. The novella "Farewell!" poignantly recounts the fate of Stepha.