The real night train from Hendaye (France) to Lisbon was stopped since the Covid pandemic after running for decades.

He has an expressed interest in literature and begins questioning his world, his experiences and the words contained in conversation and written thought.

His life and thoughts are strongly influenced by living under an oppressive regime, relying heavily upon a brutal secret police force, the PIDE.

Amadeu, who is by now an accomplished and well-liked doctor, saves the life of Mendez, the "Butcher of Lisbon" and Chief of Secret Police.

In the public eye, Amadeu's actions mark him down as a traitor, resulting in him being shunned and secretly joining the resistance to ease his conscience.

After his premature death due to an aneurysm, Amadeu's notes and journal entries are edited and published by his sister Adriana.

Raimund also manages to track down Jorge O'Kelly, a pharmacy owner and Amadeu's best friend who helped him join the resistance, and Estefânia Espinhosa, a woman with an exceptional memory.

Mercier uses various activities and subthemes to help explore these deep, self-reflective subjects including "night journeys, insomnia and dream-filled sleep, of being stuck in place yet somehow adrift, and confusion about life's purpose."

[4][5] Anne Phillips in The News-Gazette noted that Night Train to Lisbon was "reminiscent of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind" and commented that "mystery romance and political intrigue" keep the pages turning.

During the Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan on 21 March 2014, the wall of the second floor of the Legislative Yuan was sprayed with a quote from the work, "when dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a duty."