It tells of a trip undertaken by Jerome and his friend "B" to see the Oberammergau Passion Play in Germany.

They travel by train from London Victoria to Dover and have a rough overnight crossing of the English Channel to Ostend and thence by train to Cologne where they spend a night in a hotel.

The following day they visit Cologne Cathedral before catching the train to Munich, travelling alongside the Rhine.

They spend Sunday in Munich where Jerome practices his German before catching a train to Oberau and then a carriage to Oberammergau to see the play.

As well as describing the journey and the characters they meet the book also contains a number of humorous asides including :