"Easy, very easy, is the slope of hell!"

Bound together by dreams of success, three clerks Harry Norman, Alaric Tudor, and Charley Tudor navigate the ranks of the Civil Service, each of them drawn into a web of temptation and moral dilemmas.

Harry finds himself entangled in a complex love triangle that threatens to shatter his dreams. Will charming and ambitious Alaric succumb to the seductive allure of power–or choose a path steeped in honor? And in the character of Charley, Anthony Trollope draws the picture of his own early days in London as "that most hopeless of human beings, a hobbledehoy of 19, without any idea of a career, or a profession, or a trade."

With his head in the clouds and a heart yearning for romance, Charley must navigate the harsh realities of the world while remaining true to his artistic ambition.

"Oh the City, the weary City, where men go daily to look for money, but find none."