A man named Hieronymus has an unexpectedly long stay at the Green Dragon Inn, during this time he meets a young woman named Joan who is hoping in earnest that she can move beyond a life which to her seems dreary and do the things she desires the most. While Joan is intent on moving down the path she has set out for herself, she soon realises that a more unexpected path will yield better results, and by the end of the novel she has found her way out of the village she lives in and about to embark on an adventure she has wanted for as long as she can remember.