A whole host of characters are introduced throughout Waugh’s thought-provoking and often highly satirical story, which follows protagonist Adam through the perils and pitfalls of securing his marriage to Nina Blount, his fiancée. Roll on an eccentric (verging on senile) father-in-law-to-be, parties at 10 Downing Street, a soiree in a Zeppelin, high times at Shepheard’s hotel, where wine is always flowing, and the shocking and brilliant misbehaviour of Miss Agatha Runcible, who eventually finds drag racing a little "too, too, sick-making!" Not without pathos and serious undertones, Waugh works a winning formula to produce an accomplished and mature "funny" novel.