After a traffic accident on the boulevard of a big city, a motorcyclist is taken to the ambulance. On the hospital bed, he falls into restless dreams, where he finds himself as a hunted man in the sublime war of the Aztecs. But is it just the fever delirium that torments the sick man? The relentless chase drives him into a corner, and only when the stone knife of the sacrificial priest descends upon him can he distinguish between dream and reality. In the story "The Night on the Back," Julio Cortázar proves that he is a master of the art of blending the ordinary and the fantastical in an explosive mixture. His unforgettable stories have long become an integral part of world literature. Compiled and with an afterword by Clemens Meyer.