Set in Capri, New York, and The Hamptons,[2] the novel details the escapades of Lucie Tang Churchill,[3] a nineteen-year-old biracial New Yorker and descendent of Winston Churchill who is engaged to Baron Cecil Pike while being wooed by Chinese Australian surfer George Zao.

"[6] Compared to the Crazy Rich Asians series, Sex and Vanity has a smaller cast of characters; Kwan wanted "a much simpler, more intimate story that surrounded one very fascinating young woman.

"[11] Francesca Angelini of The Times wrote that it is "a straight-up retelling of A Room With a View",[12] whereas The New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin opined that "Sex and Vanity is what A Room With a View might have been if E. M. Forster’s characters had been micron-deep, Instagram-obsessed and unable to make conversation.

"[3] Writing for the Asian Review of Books, Susan Blumberg-Kason praised Sex and Vanity for being "a timely story that pokes not too gently at some of society’s less tractable flaws".

[13] As of July 2020, Sony Pictures has purchased the film rights to Sex and Vanity and the project is in development.