Milvain, one of the two central characters of the novel is a modern young man driven by pure financial ambition in navigating his literary career. He accepts that he will always despise the people he writes for, networks within the appropriate social circle to create opportunity, and authors articles for popular periodicals. Reardon prefers to write novels of a more literary bent and refuses to pander to contemporary tastes until, as a last-gasp measure against financial ruin, he attempts a popular novel.