This novel typifies the ethical and moral preoccupations of Arthur Schnitzler. Berta Garlan, a young widow with a small child, feeling isolated in the small Austrian town where she lives, attempts to renew her relationship with her childhood sweetheart after a lapse of many years. Her lover, now a famous Viennese violin virtuoso, takes advantage of Berta's trusting love. At last, a wiser and more mature woman, she returns home and becomes reconciled to her destiny.