Bright Lights, Big City is a novel by American author Jay McInerney, published by Vintage Books on August 12, 1984.

It is written about a character's time spent caught up in, and notably escaping from, the early 1980s New York City fast lane.

By night, he is a cocaine-using party-goer seeking to lose himself in the hedonism of the 1980s yuppie party scene, often going to a nightclub called Heartbreak.

After flying out to Paris for Fashion Week, she calls the protagonist to inform him that she is leaving him for another man and to pursue her career.

Initially hopeful that she will return someday, the protagonist eventually resorts to searching for her at a fashion event, publicly humiliating himself while failing to garner more attention from her than a brief look.