the journey of Charles Ryder, who, through the memories of his interactions with an aristocratic English family, encounters various episodes of conversion and experiences the illuminating power of divine grace--which, in the words of G.K. Chesterton, tugs on human hearts "with a twitch upon the thread." Lodged between two world wars and burdened by the stark collapse of culture, Charles Ryder comes face to face with the perils of sin and confronts the inescapable yearnings of faith.