The setting of the story is Berlin, Germany, in December 1925. Nabokov is a Russian expatriate living in Berlin at the time in the aftermath of World War I, and although it is never stated, readers can assume that Nabokov is the narrator. The point of view of the story is the first person narrative, which almost gives an essay like quality to the piece. The only other character in the story is the narrator's pub companion, who merely reacts to the narrator's depiction of his day in Berlin.

The story is told on the pretense and in the format of being a tourist guide to Berlin, but in actuality, it is a deeper story of the fuller impact of ordinary elements which a person encounters each day. In perspective, each person, profession, article and place encountered today will someday be viewed as a historical artifact...