Set in Liverpool during World War II, this novel follows the unusual life of one family from the point of view of Peter Leape, a sensitive and imaginative boy from a working-class background who struggles to free himself from his family's social and religious bigotry. When older brother Frank, who monopolizes his mother's love, joins the Royal Air Force instead of entering the priesthood, Peter enters the seminary in his place in the hopes of attaining some love and attention. Instead, Peter is terrorized by the overbearing Father Prefect and the other German priests who run the order. A sexual misadventure with a GI during a holiday and a subsequent family tragedy help Peter out of the seminary, leading to a variety of jobs and even more sexual encounters. When Peter abandons religion, he breaks the heart of the Catholic girl who loves him, and eventually faces reality in the form of a life-changing experience. Both comic and tragic, this story, which satirizes the narrator and sympathizes with him, provides insight into postwar life.