The themes that thread through these nine accomplished stories are drawn from the great tradition of the twentieth-century weird tale, and they are suffused with a distinctly cosmopolitan, European feel. Mark Samuels writes about the fundamental fears of modern life, especially the effects of isolation and the dislocation that city dwellers can experience in their inhospitable, man-made environment.

Mannequins in Aspects of Terror: The office tower had long fascinated me. The building dominated the skyline in the Euston area of London and consisted of twenty-seven floors with an exterior of green, dark glass.