Tales of Men and Ghosts collects ten short stories previously published in Scribner's Magazine and The Century during the years 1909 and 1910: "The Bolted Door," "His Father's Son," "The Daunt Diana," "The Debt," "Full Circle," "The Legend," "The Eyes," "The Blond Beast," "Afterward," and "The Letters." Set in Europe and New York City, the main characters usually are men--artists, dilletantes, or businessmen--and their friends, proteges, and hangers-on. Frequently, the unnamed male narrator also is a character in the story. Only two stories, "Afterward" and "The Letters," feature women as obviously central characters, although the peripheral female characters in the stories sometimes play important roles.