A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.

Tom, greeting-card writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely off-guard when his girlfriend, Summer, suddenly dumps him. He reflects on their 500 days together to try to figure out where their love affair went sour, and in doing so, Tom rediscovers his true passions in life.

A set of circumstances makes Anna Scott, a famous actress, fall in love with William Thacker, owner of a bookstore in Notting Hill. But the paparazzi's fascination with her complicates their bond.

上世纪八十年代以来，长篇小说的创作随着社会生活的变化而日渐繁荣，小说的创作与出版均呈现出多元化的态势，为记录长篇小说发展的历程，展示创作的实绩，长江文艺出版社决定每年推出若干种长篇小说。凡能中国文学的审美视野，小说艺术的表现领域，满足读者的欣赏需求和阅读期待，具有“精英文化 ，大人趣味，百姓情怀”品质，不限风格，题材，篇幅，不拘囿作家创作阅历长短，能体现上述宗旨者皆可入选。因出版者地处神话传说中的“九头鸟”故乡，又因“九头鸟”体现了我们这个信息时代“耳听八方，眼观六路”的特点，具有一定的历史文化积泻与鲜明的时代特色，故以此冠之。本书由长江文艺出版社出版。

2001 film by Peter Chelsom