Setting out to see the world in the summer of 1926, Theophilus North gets as far as Newport, Rhode Island, before his car breaks down. To support himself, Theophilus takes jobs in the elegant mansions along Ocean Drive, playing the roles of tutor, tennis coach, spy, lover, friend, and enemy as he becomes entangled in adventure and intrigue in the city's fabulous addresses, as well as in its local boarding houses, restaurants, and military barracks. From 1973, Thornton Wilder's final novel is a lively and colorful tale that may surprise readers of The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and an unconventional rumination on what life could have been like for his own twin brother who died at birth.