In John Fowles's enigmatic novel, Nicholas Urfe, a young English teacher, accepts a position on the remote Greek island of Phraxos. There, he meets the mysterious and wealthy recluse Maurice Conchis, who draws him into a series of elaborate and disorienting psychological experiments. These "godgames" blur the lines between reality and illusion, forcing Nicholas to confront his own beliefs about love, freedom, and the nature of existence itself in a labyrinth of deceit and theatrical manipulation.