This novel "incidentally the tragedy of an aggravating young man" who travels to Geneva to work for "The International Institute of Racial Peace" and finds himself in a tangled mess of a love affair. Told in a humorous manner, the man manages to be naive and irritating to everyone he encounters, which is especially comical in the cases of his roommate and landlady.

This was the first geometric design by Richard Kennedy for a Hogarth Press cover. The format was subsequently used and adopted on over twenty other titles.