These twenty-three stories were selected by Moorhouse from his first three books: Futility and Other Animals, The Americans, Baby and The Electrical Experience and were written between 1964 and 1974, spanning the vastness of distance between Sydney's bohemian intelligentsia and the apparent certainties of life in an Australian country town. The old-fashioned attitudes of T. George McDowell, a manufacturer of aerated soft drinks, leading country town resident, Rotarian and an apostle of Progress are juxtaposed with the shifting values of the urban tribe. Cindy - tribal member - a university lecturer living with Roger, the father of of her forthcoming child, is unable to quite shake off the fears and doubts that her conventional upbringing have instilled in her; and on the fringes is Becker, an American Coca-Cola executive who is overwhelmed by Australia - to his doom. In this volume: The Story Of The Knife; Across The Plains, Over The Mountains And Down To The Sea;The First Story Of Nature; Lou Shouted 'Hey!'; Walking Out; The Train Will Shortly Arrive; Futility And Other Animals; The Second Story Of Nature; The Third Story Of Nature; Dell Goes Into Politics; Becker And The Boys From The Band; The Machine Gun; Becker On The Moon; A Person Of Accomplishment; The Coca-Cola Kid; Soft Drink And The Distribution Of Soft Drink; The St Louis Rotary Convention 1923, Recalled; Jesus Said To Watch For Twenty-eight Signs; George McDowell Does The Job; George McDowell Changes Names; Business No Picnic; Rules And Practices For The Overcoming Of Shyness; The Enterprising Spirit Of The Anglo-Saxon Race.