"[1] A young idealistic civil servant, Arvid Falk, leaves the drudgery of bureaucracy to become a journalist and author.

As he explores various social activities—politics, publishing, theatre, philanthropy, and business—he finds more hypocrisy and political corruption than he thought possible.

He takes refuge with a group of "bohemians", who meet in a red dining room in Berns Salonger to discuss these matters.

The pathetic struggle of the artistic and literary career, its follies and pretenses, the fatuity of politics, the dishonesty of journalism, the disillusion that awaits the aspiring actor, all these things run riot through the lively pages.

The laughter of a somber humorist has in it a tenderness unknown to merry natures.The novel was adapted into a comic book by Per Demervall.