Alberto Alemanni, a successful radio journalist on the threshold of old age, is tormented by a recurring dream, in which an unknown woman approaches and smiles at him. This simple gesture, without a reasonable reason, has the power to upset him. Alberto, recently separated from his wife Francesca and in a crisis of communication with his teenage daughter Simonetta, turns to an expert psychologist in the exploration of dreams, which his young collaborator Chiara recommends to him: Anna Panebianco. The meeting with the doctor opens up paths never traveled to Alberto, which gradually change his way of experiencing feelings and emotions.

During a radio broadcast in which he shares his own dreams with the public, he meets Professor Ray Light-Taylor, an expert anthropologist of the Senoi, an ancient Malaysian people who had founded the whole society on his connection with the dream, achieving lasting harmony in life community and developing unsurpassed courage in battle. Their lucid dream technique was able to create a dialogue with the unconscious and strengthen the inner energies: using this revisited technique, Alberto faces his fear. And finally, after visions and discoveries in which he risks getting lost, he understands from which unthinkable source his nightmare comes. He rediscovers his ability to love, breaking down defensive layers that hide his true soul, even from himself.

The gift of the tiger is a psychological thriller that enters the labyrinths of the mind; it is an investigation into male feelings and family affections, which risk being lost due to misunderstandings and communication difficulties. And it is also a surprising novel about the power of dreams, about the unexpected relationship they have with our lives.