Self-effacing Grace Stewart rejected countless suitors until she agreed to marry Monroe Collier, her ideal Southern gentleman. But now their engagement is somewhat unstable, since Monroe has yet to appear at the hotel, where Grace's mother passes the lazy afternoons studying the other guests for signs of turmoil and disintegration.

She spots a likely candidate for a mental breakdown in the crazed but brilliant Walter, a twenty-five-year-old Wall Street securities analyst on sabbatical who has determinedly attached himself to Grace.

Will Grace remain true to laconic Monroe, who represents the traditional yet decaying society of her birth? Or will she be charmed by the strangely charismatic Walter? Who will gain entry into the Fiery Pantheon, home of Grace's most beloved and honored heroes? The outcome remains uncertain as Grace travels with her family to New York and on to Istanbul and North Africa, where nameless anxiety, reverie, and Southern gentility are set against a world stage.