It is 1951, the second year of the Korean War. Marcus Messner, a law-abiding youngster from Newark, New Jersey, is beginning his sophomore year at pastoral, conservative Winesburg College in Ohio. Why is he here? Because his father, the hard-working neighbourhood butcher, seems to have gone mad— mad with fear and apprehension of the dangers of adult life, the dangers of the world, the dangers he sees in every corner for his beloved boy.

Indignation, the tale of a young man's education in life's terrifying chances and bizarre obstructions, is a story of inexperience, sexual discovery, courage, and error. It is a powerful addition to Roth's investigations of the impact of American history on the life of the vulnerable individual.