A short novel told as a confession. A scholar named Michel marries almost by duty, then falls gravely ill on a journey to North Africa. Recovery changes him, and he begins to question the careful, learned life he has led and to seek a more instinctive and sensuous existence. His wife and his home become tied up in this change. Gide explores the cost of freedom pursued without limits, and he leaves the reader to judge whether Michel is liberated or merely selfish. It is a compact, influential work on honesty, desire and the self.