Augie March is a penniless and parentless Chicago boy growing up during the Great Depression. A 'born recruit', he drifts through life latching onto a wild succession of occupations, including butler, thief, dog-washer, sailor and salesman, then proudly rejects each one as too limiting. Not until he tangles with the glamorous Thea, a huntress with a trained eagle, can he attempt to break free.

A modern-day Everyman in search of identity and fulfilment, Augie is the star performer in Bellow's exuberant, richly observed human variety show.