Young Amory Blaine, who is convinced he has an exceptionally promising future, finishes boarding school and attends Princeton. At university, Amory is an indifferent student, preferring instead to fall in and out of love, and cheerfully immersing himself in a glitzy world of excessive drinking and casual liaisons. Then, World War I breaks out; Amory forgoes his degree, enlists, and is shipped overseas. Upon his return, Amory falls in love with Rosalind Connage, a beautiful debutante. But, during the War, wealth has deserted him and Amory must face a bitter truth: poor boys mustn?t dream of rich girls. Disillusioned by failure, Amory sets out on a quest for self-realization, and stumbles upon a startling, perhaps life-changing, insight.