Charly Marlow, an enigmatic and elusive character, personifies Conrad's experiences as a sailor and a traveler. The four strictly independent narratives that are grouped here for the first time: Youth, The Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim and Azar, are linked by Charly Marlow. In the four stories Marlow channels the experiences that Conrad lived in person or heard throughout his life at sea: Youth recounts what was his first trip to the East and addresses the forging of his character in adversity; in The Heart of Darkness enters the maturity of the hand of terror; in Lord Jim, Marlow engages in a strenuous effort to mitigate the bad luck that haunts young Jim and redeem the cult that grips him, and in Azar, Marlow probes sinister darkness and heinous guilt.