The story 'traces the rise of an ambitious Sydney youth to fame as a financial magnate. Relying on swiftly-moving action...the author presents the altering viewpoints of this citizen. Contacts in England bring changes into the relations of the parents and children. England holds the young people who are educated there; Australia holds the parents. In the background, Dalley presents...the changing political and social life' in Australia and 'comments with shrewd understanding'. (Source: Miller, Australian Literature from its Beginnings to 1935, 1940)