The story focuses on the character named Patrice Mersault, a young man who isn't happy with his life, nor the direction he thinks it is going. He is introduced to a rich bloke called Zagreus who cannot fully reap the fruits of his wealth due to the limitions from an accident that has left him wheelchair-bound.

Mersault and Zagreus become acquainted through Marthe (Mersault's girlfriend) and Zagreus explains that happiness can found in wealth and all that it has to offer. What's the logical conclusion in Mersault's mind? Yep, killing Zagerus and stealing his fortune.

Shortly after killing Zagreus, Mersault becomes ill. An almost Raskolnikov-esque series of events unfold. He travels to a few different places aiming to find somewhere to comfortably settle down and find happiness, pursuing a kind of retirement from his previous unhappy life.

This was challenging to read, however, I found it to be a philosophical tale, imbedded with a touch of irony. I kept in mind that this was Camus's first proper venture into writing a novel back in 1936. One which he never completed or thought would be published. The existence of this book is simply down to Camus's wife, Francine, who found the pages after he died and elected to have the book finalised and published. I found it to be decent for Camus's first novel attempt, but others may enjoy this story more than I did.