James Sanderson is a ticket collector on the railways, but he and his family are ambitious. He gains promotion, while his son does well in a City firm. The daughter has musical talent. The novel describes their aspirations sympathetically, though with humour, and we see other families go down the social scale while they rise. Gradually the children grow away from their parents. A novel without much dramatic incident, but with keen observation of working-class and lower-middle class lives.