In this novel, for a change, the protagonist is a master, not students. We see events from the point of view of some boys, but it is new that readers are asked to look at things from the point of view of the teacher. Mark Ralesford is a young gentleman who has just become engaged. He is also ready to start work after graduation and travel around the world. He is accepted as a teacher and home master at a boarding school called Grandcourt, where, coincidentally, one of his students will be Arthur Herapat, the younger brother of his bride.