A humble man and a religious man, Ezra Siman Tov is also a teller of stories, stories that enthrall and captivate his friends in their old Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem. His brother-in-law, Dr Tawil, gives him a grudging respect, the Torah scholars listen surreptitiously and the Great Writer - SY Agnon? - take his stories and give them form. But along with his stories, Ezra also has a shame and a secret, which overshadows his family. Haim Sabato recreates a lost world in which faith provides a framework for life and a source of deep comfort. Translated by Yaacob Dweck from the original Hebrew.