Summoned to take up the position of a land surveyor to the mysterious lord of a castle, the character known as K. finds himself in a bitter and baffling struggle to contact his new employer and go about his duties.

This novel tells the story of Joseph K, a respectable clerk in a bank, who is suddenly arrested and asked to defend himself against a criminal charge which is never defined.

This volume includes all his available shorter fiction in a collection edited and introduced by Gabriel Josipovici. The stories range from tiny fragments to substantial narratives which have been arranged to illuminate one another and to illustrate Kafka's evolution as a writer.