An ambitious young man seeks his fortune in 1950s California in this New York Times–bestselling author’s classic novel of love and disillusionment.

As the heir apparent to his family’s mercantile empire, Jimmy Keefe is guaranteed a bright future. But the recent college graduate is determined to liberate himself from his old money New England home. He leaves Connecticut behind for the dream of California. However, when his hasty marriage suddenly falls apart, Jimmy finds himself alone in Sacramento.

Yet there are those who seem to have everything Jimmy desires. His friends from back East, Claire and Blazer Gates, now host lavish parties in their opulent, glass-walled San Francisco penthouse. But the closer Jimmy gets to Claire and Blazer’s shimmering life on a hill, the more he becomes embroiled in their sordid—and increasingly scandalous—affairs.