Farrell's first novel, A Man From Elsewhere (1963), recalls in ifs title a populär saying: ‘A man from elsewhere is a man without a soul’ (ME 53). As this may suggest, the book is preoccupied with existential questions about the nature, purpose and potential meaninglessness of life. The tone throughout is resolutely depressing and bleak. Farrell was working in France as a teacher while writing the novel, and the influence of his passion for French literature can be discerned throughout. His early writing in general is certainly influenced by existentialist works of such figures as Jean-Paul Sartre and especially Albert Camus, one of Farrell's lifelong favourite writers.

The novel's title echoes Camus's L'Etranger (1942) with its emphasis on the outsider figure, and there are several references to Camus's work. The novel is set in the French town of Saint Guilhelm and concerns the conflict between its chief protoganists, Regan and Sayer. Sinclair Regan is a famous novelist and former Communist who quit the party in 1940 during the German occupation of France. Once an influential and inspirational activist, his writings since 1941 have been seen as tantamount to a betrayal of his comrades. At the time of the novel's setting, 1961, Regan is terminally ill, living out his last days in Saint Guilhelm. News circulates that he is about to be awarded the Catholic Prize for World Peace, a prospect which alarms his former colleague Gerhardt who edits a Communist newspaper in Paris, the Workers ‘ International Review. Concerned that Regan will be remembered with admiration and sympathy rather than as a betrayer and turncoat, Gerhardt asks one of his journalists, Sayer, to travel to Saint Guilhelm to gather information for an article for the Review which will destroy Regan's reputation. As Gerhardt explains, time is of the essence: ‘There's a considerable difference between a man who dies in disgrâce and a man whose good name is questioned after his death’ (ME 23). As his name wittily suggests, Sayer will be largely responsible for telling Regan's fortunes to the world.

Sayer travels to Saint Guilhelm and stays with Regan - who is perfectly aware of Gerhardt's motives and Sayer's intentions - where he meets two other important characters: Gretchen, apparently Regan's teenage daughter, and Luc, with whom she has been having an affair.