Axel Heyst, a detached Swedish man who has resolved never to become entangled in the affairs of others, lives alone on a remote island in the Dutch East Indies. A moment of pity draws him to rescue a young woman from a miserable travelling orchestra and the men who prey on her. They begin a fragile life together, but their refuge is soon threatened when a group of sinister strangers arrives. The novel explores isolation, compassion and the cost of withdrawing from the world, in a tense story that mixes romance with menace.