One of Georges Simenon's most persuasive and moving novels, THE TRAIN introduces us to Marcel, a timid young man, full of self-doubt, who is catapulted into the pandemonium of war. When the Germans invade Belgium, he joins the stampede for trains running south.

This is the break of his life for which he has unconsciously waited. Separated from his family, he meets Anna, a Czech Jewess, with whom he finds real love for the first time.

As the train moves through a surrealistic landscape, all inhibitions fall away. But the moment is brief, and realities inevitably reassert themselves.