Boken handler om skjebnen til all flink ungdom. De herskende samfunnsforholdene og den konvensjonelle kjønnsmoralen fører til at ungdommen må gå til grunne. De to unge mennene i boken, Herman Eek og Jarmann er to begavede mennesker som ødelegges av utenforliggende hemninger på deres naturlige trang. Annen del inneholder utdrag av debattene i Den frisinnede studenterforening og forfatterens forsvarstale i højestrett.
Hans Jæger was a Norwegian author, anarchist and bohemian. Jæger has left his mark on Norwegian litterature more by his life than with the books he wrote, despite his works being confiscated by the authorities and him being imprisoned. Jæger would influence the intellectual circles in Norway in the 1880ies together with his friends of artists and students, known as the "Kristiania boheme", of whom Christian Krogh became the most notable. He was also a friend of the painter Edvard Munch.