One day mild-mannered, middle-aged teacher Raimund Gregorious suddenly quits his ordinary life and, for no reason apparent to his colleagues or his students, sets off on a journey across Europe. haunted by a mysterious old book that seems, somehow, to speak to him personally, he embarks in search of clues to the life of its enigmatic Portuguese author, Amadeu de Prado. Gradually he uncovers the life of an extraordinary man: a child prodigy, a doctor, a philosopher and a rebel. And as Gregorious learns about Prado, he also begins a process of self-discover, looking back at his own life and the choices he has made, wondering about the man he might have been. Hurtling through the dark, Night Train to Lisbon is a profound tale, wonderfully told, propelled by the mystery at its heart.