Primarily the story of Christopher Isherwood's parents, this is a description of the traditional English family background from which Isherwood, a pacifist and homosexual, felt impelled to escape. The couple first met in 1895 and married in 1903, on Frank's return from the Boer War. Christopher was born in the following year. Frank, a regular soldier, though possessed of artistic talents, was killed in May 1915 whilst leading his men on a hopeless assault at Ypres, but Kathleen survived to the age of 91. The book has been described as revealing more about Christopher Isherwood than any of the seemingly autobiographical novels which preceded it.