The author describes his life after he became famous for "The Uses of Literacy" and found himself a "public person". This is the final volume of his autobiographical trilogy that also includes "A Local Habitation" and "A Sort of Clowning". The book tells of a life full of contrasts: the universities of Leicester and Birmingham, the "Lady Chatterley" trial, where he appeared for the defence, the beginnings of the Open University, his years at UNESCO and as warden of Goldsmith's College, London. But the heart of his life remained his family and it is to this that he returns in his conclusion.