 The story takes place in Dublin in 1922. Mr. Carmody is an unassuming middle aged man looking for a job. One day he goes to Dublin Castle to visit a Mr. Watkins in the Department of Fisheries with the view to trying to secure job. When he arrives he finds chaos. But as the story unfolds Mr. Carmody, through a twist of fate and bureaucratic bungling, ends up with a job not in the classic sense but secure in the knowledge of a pay cheque every month.