Aldous Huxley's novel about a young man's slow coming of age during the early decades of the 20th century tells the story of Anthony Beavis, an intelligent boy whose mother dies during his childhood. Disillusioned by the war and further disheartened by the Depression, Anthony leaves England and travels about aimlessly. In Mexico, however, he meets a Scottish physician who expounds an eccentric philosophy based on the Eastern mystics and Western socialism. This imparts a sense of purpose to Anthony, who sets out at the story's close to create a new life for himself in his middle age.