In this book Ruskin Bond skilfully and creatively compiles a set of short stories, all of which have a strand of wickdeness of some kind running through them. Sometimes the protagonists are wicked; sometimes the author is. But rather than being conventional tales of good and evil, this collection showcases the dark side that all human beings have, and the sometimes humourous, sometimes tragic, sometimes frightening situations that reveal this aspect of their charecters. A throughly enjoyable read.