Lambert Painswick is suffering a character assassination. He doesn't realise it, and neither does the narrator of his adventure. The narrator, who is half Mer, is recording the visit of Lambert to the Mer's undersea kingdom. The unnamed narrator does not know that the Mer have the gift of creating ex nihilo and, out of kindness, are awakening the gift in him. If he had known, he would have taken more care in his characterisation. His dislike of Lambert is obvious as he struggles with the contrast between his own apparent childhood rejection by the Mer and their interest in Lambert. In response to a series of nocturnal visits by the Mer and some strange incidents, he concocts an adventure for Lambert based on the template they provide. The Mer kingdom is not as romantic as Lambert had hoped and seems to bring out the worst in him, although the reader eventually discovers that it is the narrator, in his jealousy, who brings out the worst in him. Lambert struggles in the Mer culture and fails to grasp the sophistication of the Mer civilisation; he rejects the mythical undergirding of Mer culture and fails to see their complex worldview and their 'gift'. The narrator shares the same struggles; in addition, he has the shock of realising that his imaginative creation, Lambert, now exists in the real world. The Novel focuses on the consequences of Lambert's growing fascination for Qyyn and her people, the Mer. He, and they, struggle with the challenges caused by his decisions and urges. The Navy comes out of this tarnished as the age-old desire for invasion and conquest is played out on land and beneath the sea, between male and female.