White Nights is a romantic novel that tells the story of four nights in St. Petersburg, each short night symbolizing the fleeting love story Dostoevsky recounts. A lonely, romantic young man encounters a weeping girl on a darkened St. Petersburg street, hoping for her lover's return. Nastenka becomes one with the young man's imagination, and he falls in love with her at first sight, comforting him with the mirage of love and a child. In just a few pages, this novel explores many things: the delirium of a dreamy young man, the hopes of a lovelorn girl, the tale of a successful encounter and a failed love, the justifications and excuses of a lover in the throes of romantic anticipation—all in the masterful and beautiful style that characterized Dostoevsky, the great novelist who throughout his life never ceased to delve into the human psyche, revealing its depths and secrets.