It tells the story of Benjamin Braddock, who, while pondering his future after his graduation, has an affair with the older Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner, before falling in love with their daughter, Elaine.

The novella was adapted into the highly successful 1967 film The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols, with Dustin Hoffman in the title role and Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson.

A sequel titled Home School, which takes place ten years after the ending of the first novel, was published by Hutchinson in June 2007.

Benjamin Braddock has recently graduated from a small Eastern college and has returned home to a suburb of Los Angeles.

Benjamin, visibly uncomfortable as his parents deliver accolades and neighborhood friends ask him about his future plans, evades those who try to congratulate him.

In mid-September, Benjamin spends the time drifting around in the pool by day, purposefully neglecting to select a graduate school, and seeing Mrs. Robinson at the hotel by night.

One evening, Mrs. Robinson reveals that she is in a loveless marriage, because in the 1940s, she became pregnant with her daughter, Elaine, dropped out of college, and married to avoid scandal.