Tommy Wilhelm, in his forties, maintains a boyish spontaneity that has brought him to the brink: separated from his wife and children, in strained relations with his successful father, unemployed, and in poor financial and psychological condition. During the course of a day, as Wilhelm revisits the mistakes of his past, sinking deeper into despair, a chance encounter grants him a wonderful moment in which the truth shines. Skillfully weaving humor and passion, Nobel laureate Bellow, in what is considered one of his masterpieces, brings to life within the span of a single day the entire journey of a man struggling to affirm his worth and humanity.