Franz K is a Prague insurance lawyer who is also a dedicated part-time writer of literature. After meeting Felice at his best friend's engagement party, he begins to correspond with her. Felice lives in Berlin. Their correspondence soon grows into a romantic relationship carried out nearly entirely in writing at first, though Franz visits Berlin occasionally to see her. Felice wants to take the relationship towards marriage and presses Franz in that direction. But Franz is ambivalent about marriage. It is something he strongly wants and equally strongly fears because he believes that his...