Switzerland from mountain chalets to historic architecture of Zurich and Geneva, from cleanliness to clock making, comes into clear relief as young John sees it during a year away from his Illinois home while his mother is ill. John's headquarters are with the Preiswerk family in Basle and Dr. Preiswerk is a chemist. With a neighbor Margret Huber who has just been in Chicago for a year John travels and does the things that initiate him to the ways and history of a varied country- in a way that makes you realize how lucky he is to have had the experience.