Reality suddenly and powerfully breaks into Mr. Enderby's carefully guarded loneliness in the form of the energetic journalist Vesta Bainbridge. And soon the infantile poet, deprived of will, finds himself a married respectable gentleman without the slightest opportunity to engage in the only thing that makes his life meaningful...

Anthony Burgess is a famous English writer, author of the bestsellers “A Clockwork Orange”, “Shakespeare in Love”, “ The Crazy Seed”, “One-Armed Applause”, “The Doctor Is Sick” and a whole series of books exploring human nature and the paths of development of modern civilization. Mr. Enderby is completely immersed in his poems, complexes and fears. He has gotten used to them and creates like a somnambulist in his isolated world. But a cruel, cynical reality breaks into his sanctuary. And genius fails in a world devoid of harmony. There is nothing left of Mr. Enderby except the radiantly peaceful Piggy Hogg, dreaming of beef and mashed potatoes...