Following a global nuclear catastrophe, a lone human survivor and a linguistically gifted chimpanzee attempt to establish a new society on a remote island. Calvin Cohn, a paleontologist, finds himself the sole representative of humanity after the world is destroyed by nuclear fire. He is joined by Buz, a chimpanzee who possesses the capacity for speech due to experimental conditioning. Together, they navigate the physical demands of island survival while grappling with the moral and theological implications of their existence in a post-human world. The narrative utilizes a third-person perspective to examine the breakdown of civilization and the attempt to reconstruct ethics from scratch.

Readers and critics often observe that the work functions as a dark, intellectual fable rather than a traditional survival narrative. Discussion frequently centers on the absurdity of the premise and how it serves to highlight the failures of human morality throughout history. Many note that the pacing is deliberate, prioritizing philosophical debate over physical action or plot progression. The atmosphere is consistently described as bleak yet thought-provoking, forcing the reader to confront the fragility of civilization. The text is frequently cited for its unique blend of humor and existential dread, making it a distinct entry in the author's body of work.