The three-act play and the hitherto uncollected stories contained in this book represent the first literary fruits of the active months (1937-1939) Ernest Hemingway spent in Spain covering the Spanish Civil War as a correspondent for the North American Newspaper Alliance and helping to film battle scenes for the motion picture The Spanish Earth. He conveys the feverish life in Madrid under siege: the daily horrors of the Rebel bombardment, the incongruous humor, the contest in duplicity and brutality between Loyalist counter-espionage agents and the fascist enemy within the city, the futility of trying to establish between a man and woman any relationship deeper or more permanent than casual sexual adventure. Each of the four stories depicts a different aspect of the war.