These include Charles "Cap'm Charlie" Croker, a real estate mogul and member of Atlanta's high society who is suddenly facing bankruptcy; Martha Croker, his first wife, trying to maintain her social standing without her husband; Ray Peepgass, who is trying illegally to capitalize on Croker's fall; Roger "Too White" White II, a prominent black lawyer; and Conrad Hensley, a young man in prison who discovers Stoic philosophy (Epictetus).

The novel begins with the characters learning of the rumored rape of a young white heiress by a black superstar athlete, Fareek "The Cannon" Fanon.

Some of this more pointed criticism, mixed with praise for Wolfe's style, came from established American novelists, including John Updike and Norman Mailer.

Wolfe countered this criticism in his book Hooking Up, calling the three authors his "three stooges" who were actually shaken by the support he received.

In November 2021, Netflix ordered a six-episode limited television series adaptation of the novel with Regina King as director and executive producer and David E. Kelley as showrunner.