Butch Deely had been visiting his pregnant wife in hospital, when he met Alfred Jones, who appeared to be gentle and inoffensive. Later, Butch was to wonder about the man who advocated making the world a better place. But why quarrel with a harmless crank? Then odd things began to happen, and it seemed as though Butch had to cope, single-handed, with a menace that could eventually descend on the entire world.