Filippo galli was born a cripple. His parents died when he was a child, and he was taken care of by his uncle who worked as a priest in a fishing village. Uncle is stingy and hypocritical, and Philip's childhood life is very unhappy. After Philip entered boarding school, his disability made him bullied by his classmates, so he was quite unsociable. His uncle told him to believe in God. But Philip prayed to God to cure his lame leg, but there was no result, which made him feel greatly disappointed with God. Uncle wants him to go to Oxford to study theology. But Philip insisted on studying in Germany. 18-year-old Philip entered Heidelberg and studied there. In the past, he thought it was a great sin not to believe in God. Now he sees that some of his atheist friends are very noble, so he makes up his mind not to believe in God.

After Philip came back from Germany, he had a relationship with an old maid twice his age, because he thought a 20-year-old should have some love experience. But Philip soon regretted it. He went to London, worked as an accountant for a year, and then went to Paris to study fine arts. Due to lack of talents and funds, he returned to London two years later and began to study medicine.

Soon, Philip met Mildred, a beautiful and frivolous waitress, who was crazy about her. However, when he proposed, Mildred said rudely that she would marry another man because Philip had too little money. Philip loved and hated her, and his nerves almost collapsed. Later, Philip met Nora, a single woman writer. Although she was poor and ugly, she was cheerful and understanding, and they became lovers. At that time, Philip was very happy. Soon after, Mildred was cheated and returned to London penniless and pregnant. Philip immediately abandoned Nora cruelly and spent a lot of money on Mildred, but in return she left with a man whom Philip regarded as a good friend. So Philip forced himself to study harder. In the internship hospital, he met a young man named Thorpe Astero and became good friends with him.

One night, Philip happened to see Mildred in the street. She became a street prostitute. Out of sympathy, Philip put her and her children in his own home. Mildred managed to restore her love relationship with Philip. But Philip insisted on treating her as a friend, and at last Mildred swore angrily. She left Philip again.

Philip later went bankrupt. When he was starving to death, Thorpe's family took him in and found him a job.

When Philip was 30, his uncle died and left him a sum of money. Only then did he complete the medical course and get the diploma. He wants to be a ship doctor and travel around the world. But he found that Thorpe's sister Sally has grown up, and Sally has always had a crush on him. At this moment, Philip suddenly realized that he had lived in expectation all his life and never lived a normal life. Now he should live in reality. So he married Sally and went to live in a small fishing village together.