The book traces the relationship of a miserly bookseller and the woman he marries. Alongside their story is the story of Elsie their servant and her love for Joe. The characters bring about their own downfall or survival; the book is a mixture of melancholy and hopefulness. There is also an interesting portrait of an old-fashioned family doctor who is the deus ex machina. Although the book is set just after the end of the First World War, the characters’ attitudes and beliefs hark back to the Victorian era rather than being influenced by any new ideas.