The oldest part of Stockholm is a little rocky island. Once it was the whole city. At one end of it stands the huge square-cut pile of the Royal Palace, looking with solemn indifference toward the more modern quarters across the ever hurried waters of the North River. Almost within the shadow of the palace stood the house where Keith first arrived at some sort of consciousness of himself and the surrounding world. This novel tells the tale of Keith and his awakening to the outside world.