This book investigates the psychological and social barriers that prevent individuals from achieving healthy, fulfilling intimate relationships. Eustace Chesser, a physician and psychologist, utilizes his clinical experience to examine how cultural conditioning, childhood experiences, and repressed anxieties manifest as fear in adult romantic connections. He argues that by identifying these underlying psychological patterns, individuals can dismantle their defensive mechanisms to foster more authentic emotional and physical intimacy.

Readers and historians of psychology often view this work as a significant mid-century contribution to the popularization of sexual health and relationship counseling. Experts note that while the prose reflects the social norms of its original publication era, the core psychological observations regarding fear and intimacy remain relevant to the study of human behavior.