When a mysterious craft appears from the clouds over Rotterdam and an odd looking tiny being with no ears drops a letter at the feet of the Burgermeister, nobody can possibly imagine the strange and wonderful account which it contains.

The letter is from a certain Hans Pfaal, a citizen of Rotterdam who went missing five years earlier under strange circumstances, and who was widely believed to have been the victim of a bizarre and grisly murder. But Hans Pfaal's story is even more astounding than anyone could possibly imagine.