The hero of the story is a young, liberal intellctual. He was a novelist by profession. Although he was a rich young man, he moved from one boarding house to another for well over a decade. He liked wandering around, not wanting to be bound in one place. Naturally, he wasn't into marriage either. So he moved to another boarding house this time once again. He liked the room and the house instantly. But as luck would have it, his landlady was someone he had known from a long time ago. She was the wife of his late friend from school. But the memory with her was not a particularly happy one for him. And now he met her as his lessor. This made him all the more uncomfortable. He would have to exercise more self-control and discretion from now on because she was a young widow living alone.
