Is he a madman or the best butler ever? Cadiot's zany first novel takes the British weekend house paradigm and keeps shifting its terms. At this book's centre is the enigmatic 'I' - a butler headed for perfection or insanity - or perhaps both. With the impending Second World War as a background, the story, often funny and at times sinister, interweaves themes of servitude, espionage, escape and, ultimately, victory in an unsuspected quarter. Translated from the French by Cole Swensen.