An introspective child, Robert forms an attachment to his roguish great-grandfather, who draws the youngster out of his shell with his raucous ways.

In the novel, he is forced for a time to wear a ridiculous green suit made for him by his Grandma, and is mercilessly teased at school because of it..

The novel consists of three sections: Book One portrays the protagonist's arrival in Scotland as a child, following the death of his parents back in Ireland; Book Two focuses on the character's adolescence and ends on a pair of tragedies (the death of his best friend and his failure to win a scholarship to study medicine at the university, due to a sudden illness); Book Three begins with the protagonist as a somewhat embittered figure, entering the adult working world with little hope for the future, which is only compounded by his having fallen in love.

However, the death of his beloved great grandfather brings him an inheritance that will enable him to pursue his dreams after all.

[2] The film was directed by Victor Saville and the cast featured Charles Coburn, Tom Drake, Beverly Tyler, Hume Cronyn, Gladys Cooper, Dean Stockwell, Selena Royle, and Jessica Tandy.