The twenty-five-year-old Arthur has abandoned his studies and his home; he lives in a hotel with an allowance from his father, with whom he does not have frequent communication. He is haunted by a childhood trauma that has led him to depression and drinking. Will the meeting after years with his father and with a girl he meets the same day in a bar be enough for him to manage his trauma and his explosive behavior?

The first novel by the author of Stoner. A psychological work that John Williams wrote during World War II when he was hospitalized as a wounded soldier. It was first published in 1948 but did not receive much attention. It was re-evaluated sixty years later and added to the list of his other great works.