All quiet on the Orient Express

The unnamed male narrator is camping in England's Lake District before going on his dream trip to the Orient. When the campground owner, Tommy Parker, asks him to do a small paint job, the narrator agrees. But that one job turns into a series of many odd jobs, keeping him from his travel plans. The main character feels like he has become a servant in this strange town, but perhaps it is just his own fear of leaving familiarity.