Auberon Waugh's first novel, The Foxglove Saga, is an imaginative and savage satire. Its hero, Martin Foxglove, is a golden boy. In the eyes of his devout and beautiful mother, Lady Foxglove, he can do no wrong. Despite her unceasing, protective care, Martin chooses a set of wholly unsuitable friends and abandons his Christian faith. He is hell bent on making a bid for freedom, and he holds all the cards, playing them one by one.