Jeremy Barton is an Irish philosophy student, much given to metaphysical ranting to cover up the fact that he is still a virgin and doesn’t know how to stop being one. He lives at home with a downtrodden religious mother, Aunt Madeleine who is even more religious, a jealous brother, and a contrary father who spent twenty years working in England.
Jeremy's only outlet of relief is Terry Meehan, a gay fellow student. Jeremy uses Terry's collegial, non-chauvinist understanding of women to try to solve his celibacy issue.
A letter arrives from England from Jeremy's father's former landlady, Mrs Weatherem. It appears she might have been more than his landlady. Then, a young English woman, claiming to be a social worker looking for Mr Barton, shows up on the doorstep. Jeremy falls in love with her.
Aunt Madeleine turns out not to be who she’s supposed to be. Terry has a deep sinister connection to her, Jeremy's mother is going quietly crazy, and the whole mess stretches back to what happened twenty years ago on an island off Galway.
Jeremy is torn between his desire for an all-embracing cosmic romance, being careful, and total confusion.