A short novel told in the voice of a man awaiting execution. We never learn his crime in detail, because Hugo's interest is his thoughts, fears and memories as the hours pass. Through prison, courtroom and the weight of waiting, the narrator reflects on life, family and the nature of punishment. It was one of Hugo's first public arguments against the death penalty, a cause he held all his life. Brief and intense, it is written in a sober and haunting style.