[1] Set in a small English seaside village, the novel follows the story of the youth John Vazetti with lives with his parents in a cottage with tearooms attached.
John falls in love with a young woman, Madge, who is visiting family in the village.
Although their relatives try to push the two apart they eventually run off to London where John is arrested and imprisoned.
A reviewer in The Courier-Mail found that this "is a book of youth, misunderstood and battered by the blindness and prejudice of the hide-bound middle-aged.
"[2] In The Age, the reviewer was rather dismissive, noting: "Mr Boyd needs a bigger and better theme for the display of his literary talents.