"At the height of his powers, the son of a poor religious minister, Per Sidenius, is a Fortunate Man. He has the whole of the approaching twentieth century in his grasp: a fabulously rich Jewish heiress as a soon to be wife; burgeoning fame as a forward and free thinking man of the New Age; success in having put his sorry childhood behind him. But just as he reaches the lofty heights of bourgeois success, Per begins to deeply question his life. A series of events then unfold which Nobel Prize winning author Henrik Pontoppidan describes with unflinching honesty and intensely human passion. Here is the hectic foment of social debate, the unrepentant greed of finance sharks, the hot coals of pure and illicit love. Then the biggest questions of all -- who am I and what have I to do?"--Back cover.