The original title derives from the Swedish proverb "Bränt barn skyr elden" ("A burnt child dreads the fire").

A sensitive and introspective young man, Bengt is profoundly affected by his mother's passing, and his grief is compounded by feelings of guilt.

A badly-timed phone call at the funeral dinner, from an unmistakably female voice, leads Bengt to question his father's fidelity.

This obsession gradually takes over his life, affecting his relationships with others, including his girlfriend, Berit, whom he treats with a mixture of neglect and cruelty as his fixation on Gun intensifies.

— The Observer, Review 1950 "A literary giant in Sweden, Dagerman conjures a Strindbergian atmosphere of shadowy menace in his brief, intense novel, A Moth to a Flame...

— Evening Standard 2019[4] In 1949 Dagerman adapted the novel to the stage play Ingen går fri ("Nobody Walks Free"), which he directed himself.