Defending selfishness and individualism in the Source"The structures were austere and simple, until you looked at them and realized what work, what complexity of method, what tension of thought they had achieved simplicity. No law had dictated a single detail. The buildings were not classical, they were not Gothic, they were not Renaissance. This dialogue in Ayn Rand's powerful book The Fountainhead, set in the early 1920s in the city of skyscrapers, New York, describes architect Howard Roark's unique building style that parallels his uncompromising and individualistic personality. Roark is forced to overcome collectivism in a society where Dominique Francon, a beautiful and wealthy woman, is the only person who understands his intentions and desires, while Peter Keeting, a third-rate architect whose career succeeds thanks to his conformity to society, he wishes to find self-respect, and Ellsworth Toohey, a humanitarian, seeks to destroy the souls of men in his quest for power over humanity. In this extraordinary book, Rand combines her seductive philosophical views with a touch of romance to tell the story of the dangerous effects of a society's conformity and one man's struggle and ultimate success against these forces. The aura around the brilliant man, Howard Roark, is intimidating and dark. He is feared by people of various statures, including the dean of the Stanton Island School of Architecture of Technology, where Roark is expelled for refusing to do designs in any style except his own, and Peter Keeting, a star student of this respectable school, who often gets angry after conversations with Roark because he cannot understand the confidence his classmate feels about himself and his work while failing to share the same confidence. Roark's enthusiasm for learning about architecture leads him to the office of Henry Cameron, a man who was once considered among the greatest architects but who has since disappeared from the public eye to settle in a tiny office and receive only a few commissions. Roark seeks work in this "old-fashioned" architect's office because he admires Cameron's style. After his employer's illness and retirement, Roark ventures into many jobs, but is eventually fired from all of them due to his uncompromising attitude towards his work. After starting his own business he receives minimal work because the buildings he designs are not accepted by the public and are insulted by newspaper reviews.