"[2] "Babylon Revisited" is split into five sections, and the short story begins with Charlie Wales sitting at Ritz Bar in Paris; he is having a conversation with the bartender, Alix.

At the time the story is set, Charlie sees the world differently, as he is no longer consumed by the extravagant lifestyle of the 1920s he once lived.

He eventually leaves the bar and observes the streets of Paris with a sense of nostalgia now that the party days are over but also acknowledges how much his previous behavior and lifestyle have impacted his life in negative ways.

The story reveals that she has this grudge against him because she hated that her sister and Charlie were out spending so much money on unnecessary partying, while she and her husband, Lincoln, were barely getting by.

They have a short conversation, and Charlie continues to reminisce about his old partying days and all of the bad times in his marriage with Helen.

He feels trapped and broods over how much time will have to pass until Marion stops making him pay for his former lifestyle and mistakes.

Due to Charlie's incapability to cope after the stock market crash, he tries to make up for all of the years that he missed out on during Honoria's childhood by proving his sobriety to his sister-in-law Marion.

Following the Great Depression and the stock market crash, he is confronted with the consequences of his foolish and incautious past, causing him to find the motivation to win custody of his daughter to ease the pain of his miserable solitude.

Charlie's past experiences caused him to fail in achieving Honoria's custody despite hard work and dedication to remaking himself to become a better person and a better father.

[4] He is burdened with guilt because of his past mistakes that caused him to lose his daughter, even though he made a valiant effort to rebuild his morale.

In the television series Mad Men, the character Betty Draper is seen reading the story in the episode, "Three Sundays".