It is a dark comedy, and considered to be one of the masterpieces written by Henry James. The story follows Lewis Lambert Strether's, the protagonist of the novel, trip to Europe in pursuit of Chad, his widowed fiancee's wayward son. Strether is supposed to bring that young man back to the business of the family. He faces various unexpected complications in Europe.The story is told from the third person's perspective, from Strether's point of view.