From sleepy rural England to decadent London and the jungles of Brazil, Waugh's masterpiece describes the fortunes of Lady Brenda Last and her last husband Tony, as her infatuation with the parasitic young man-about-town John Beaver leads to the break-up of their marriage. Seeing his shallow illusions in England shatter one by one, Tony joins an expedition to the Brazilian jungle, only to find his fate take a dramatic turn there. This romantic satire examines the themes of contemporary amorality and the death of spiritual values.