Thijs Glorieus, the man of good will, cannot see injustice and often tragically and at the expense of his own well-being takes to the fate of those who cannot defend themselves. As a captain's orderly, he realizes during his military service that the moral authority of the better classes has been eroded and that each must live his life as he sees fit. He marries the retarded Lett and struggles to build an independent existence in the city.