Written in a prose of almost biblical simplicity and beauty, it is the story of a soul's long quest in search of the ultimate answer to the enigmaof man's role on this earth. As a youth, the young Indian Siddhartha meets the Buddha but cannot be content with a disciple's role: he must work out his own destiny and solve his own doubt - a tortuous road that carries him through the sensuality of a love affair with the beautiful courtesan Kamala, the temptation of success and riches, the heartache of a strugglewith his own son, to final renunciation and self-knowledge.