In this Norwegian saga of restlessness, Hamsun presents young Edevart, a headstrong boy ill at ease with books, but fiercely self-determined and eager to escape his poor village of Polden. He becomes a close friend of August, a man-orphan, rootless, who sings fantastic tales of a wondrous world. In their years of seafaring, peddling, and raucous-raising-sometimes together, sometimes separated-Edevart grows in understanding, becoming a cunning businessman, experiencing the exhilaration and devastation of love and learning to enjoy the freedom of his wandering lifestyle. Nobel prize winner Hamsun expertly weaves the clashing ideologies-the draw of a comfortable home and the excitement of adventure and the sea-with Edevart's own picaresque, as it drifts between restlessness and a peaceful happiness.