The arrival of a young actress on the French Riviera exposes the fragile, decaying foundation of a marriage between a psychiatrist and his wealthy, mentally unstable wife. Dick Diver, a man of immense charm and professional promise, finds his life and identity slowly eroded by the demands of his wife, Nicole, and the hollow excesses of the expatriate social circle they inhabit. As Rosemary Hoyt enters their orbit, she witnesses the slow disintegration of the Divers' carefully curated facade, revealing the psychological toll of their codependency. The narrative, often shifting in perspective and temporal focus, captures the transition from the optimism of the early 1920s to the disillusionment that follows as the characters' internal lives collapse under the weight of their own artifice.

This novel is widely regarded as a profound exploration of the fragility of human identity and the destructive nature of wealth. Critics often highlight the work's intricate structure and its departure from the more straightforward narrative style of the author's earlier successes. Readers frequently note the haunting quality of the prose, which captures the specific melancholy of the post-war era with precision. The text remains a central point of discussion for those interested in the intersection of personal tragedy and the broader societal shifts of the 1920s. Its reputation as a complex, layered study of decline continues to draw scholarly and popular attention decades after its initial publication.