This epigraph describes the basic theme of the novel: a troubled soul, the alcoholic Cass, is badly shaken by the "fire" of an encounter with evil, in the form of the aristocratic Mason Flagg.

Their first meeting in the town of Sambuco does not bode well for their friendship, as Cass is falling-down drunk and rudely spewing threats towards Mason Flagg and his wealthy Hollywood friends.

In a historical context, the secret burden of guilt which Cass Kinsolving bears throughout the novel is intimately connected with the lingering stain of slavery on the conscience of the blood-drenched and guilty South.

Ironically, Styron attempts to represent Cass' destruction of Mason as a heroic and redemptive act, even as he resorts to the oldest and most self-pitying stereotypes (the Yankee is a sniveling coward, the Southerner fearless on the field of battle.)

The novel was a success in France, but received mixed reviews in the US, some of which, such as the New York Times and The New Yorker, criticized its supposed heavy-handedness (particularly in the character of Luigi, a police-officer-cum-philosopher) and slow pacing, thought to detract from the writing.