Life is too short for a long story. Why not sit down and enjoy a short tale?On a bitterly cold winter's night in 1456, Francis Villon, the greatest poet of medieval France, is huddled in a small house by the cemetery of St. John, trying to write "The Ballade of Roast Fish" while Guy Tabary slobbers over his shoulder, Regnier de Montigny and Thevenin Pensete play a game of chance, and the renegade monk Dom Nicolas watches. All of them are thieves, among whom there is no honor...时间太少，小说太长，不如读一篇短故事。
小偷和士兵之间到底有怎样的差距？1456年的一个巴黎雪夜，诗人维永在经历了一场间接谋杀之后，与一个贵族老人开始了这样一场争论与思索。