Anthony Patch, a wealthy, indolent young man living in New York, fancies himself an intellectual dandy and awaits the inheritance of his grandfather's vast fortune. In 1913, he meets Gloria Gilbert, a notoriously sought-after Midwestern beauty whose arrogance matches her striking physical presence. They marry after a whirlwind romance, believing their wealth and charm will insulate them from ordinary cares.
Instead of finding purpose, the couple drifts into a life of idle luxury, excessive drinking, and superficial socialization. Anthony abandons any pretense of writing a historical study, while Gloria devotes herself entirely to preserving her youth and looks. As they slide deeper into marital discord, their days are filled with petty quarrels, emotional cruelty, and a mutual erosion of character.
The central problem of the narrative is the corrosive effect of wealth combined with a lack of purpose. Fitzgerald traces how their bright, youthful rebellion hardens into cynical bitterness. They are haunted by the prospect of the inheritance from Adam Patch, a puritanical millionaire whose slow decline mirrors their own moral rot.
As years pass, the expected fortune is contested in the courts due to old Adam's shifting whims and moral outrage at Anthony's lifestyle. The couple sinks into debilitating debt and alcoholism, moving through increasingly squalid apartments as their social circle abandons them. Gloria's beauty begins to fade, stripping away her primary source of power, and Anthony becomes a broken, paranoid shell of a man.
The narrative follows their descent through distinct phases of psychological exhaustion, highlighting the contrast between their youthful illusions and the dismal reality of their marriage. Friends like Maury Noble and Richard Caramel move on to success or stable mediocrity, while Anthony and Gloria remain locked in their mutual destruction.
The story builds toward a long, agonizing wait for the legal verdict on the inheritance. The psychological weight of their prolonged ruin breaks their spirits long before the final, pyrrhic resolution arrives, leaving them stranded in a world they despised yet desperately needed.
