Three novels

the long version

"This trilogy of novels was the culmination of Karel Čapek's career. The novels share neither characters nor events; instead, they approach the problem of knowing people--of mutual understanding--in a variety of ways. Detectives faced with a murder reconstruct the crime, but not the character of the man who was murdered. Three people tell stories about a dying pilot they know almost nothing about; each story is as full of truth as it is devoid of facts. And one man looks back on his life and discovers all the people he might have been."--Back cover.