The novel tells the story of Gideon Planish, an unprincipled social climber who becomes involved in various shady philanthropic organizations in his quest for stature without accountability.
The focus of the book begins with a young Planish demonstrating a knack for public speaking, and these skills follow him through his self-motivated and selfish undergraduate years at Adelbert College.
The book then picks up an older but still vacuous Planish, now a professor of rhetoric at Kinnikinick College, when he finally meets the woman of his dreams; young student Peony Jackson of Faribault, Minnesota.
William DuBois of The New York Times wrote that Lewis had "nailed his pelts on the barn door with a fine disregard for pattern, the jackal overlapping the mink, the Midwestern skunk cheek by jowl with the Park Avenue ermine" in the novel and that it was "a pleasure to applaud his return to the ring — to report that he is back in fighting trim, and swinging from the floor.
"[2] Joy Barnett of The Atlanta Constitution wrote that Lewis's "caustic comments on every phase of live are, as usual, stimulating" and that his "sharp perception and excellent style will undoubtedly make this book rank high among his other successes.