A satire on Australia and its relationship to the U.S. The protagonist is actor Tristan Smith, a dwarf. He is a citizen of Effica, a small country whose theater is overshadowed by Voorstand, a big country with a culture that dominates the world. The novel follows him to Voorstand where his father became a famous actor by selling his soul. Tristan, too, achieves fame, but his career is cut short when the Voorstand authorities declare him a subversive.