The novel opens with Michael O’Ryan inheriting a remote chalet in Switzerland, where he encounters the enigmatic red-haired maid Thusis and steps into a space between reality and absurdity. Although the property is deserted, local authorities insist that it must be run as a hotel, turning O’Ryan’s inheritance into a source of ironic pressure and quiet comedy. With the arrival of his friend Smith, the mystery of the treasured photograph of “The Laughing Girl” begins to overlap with Thusis’s identity. Meals, conversations, music, and minor incidents accumulate, allowing characters to probe one another beneath layers of wit and charm. Beneath its light tone, the first half subtly reflects a postwar unease and carefully establishes the novel’s emotional and thematic landscape.
