A novel set in a small town on the edge of the Gu Mountains. One summer night, the townspeople fall into a mass sleepwalking, acting out their private desires and fears while darkness seems to hang over everything. A young mortician's son, who watches over the dead, tries to understand what is happening and to protect his neighbours. The book is told as a nightmarish fable, with a strong sense of dread and a close eye on community, memory and the pressure to stay silent. It shows Yan's gift for turning social unease into strange, haunting imagery.