the setting is atlanta georgia a racially mixed latecentury boomtown full of fresh wealth and wily politicians the protagonist is charles croker once a college football star now a latemiddleaged atlanta conglomerate king whose outsize ego has at last hit up against reality charlie has a 29000 acre quailshooting plantation a young and demanding second wife and a halfempty office complex with a staggering load of debtmeanwhile conrad hensley idealistic young father of two is laid off from his job at the croker global foods warehouse near oakland and finds himself spiraling into the lower depths of the american legal systemand back in atlanta when star georgia tech running back fareek the canon fanon a homegrown product of the citys slums is accused of dateraping the daughter of a pillar of the white establishment upscale black lawyer roger white ii is asked to represent fanon and help keep the citys delicate racial balance from blowing skyhighnetworks of illegal asian immigrants crisscrossing the continent daily life behind bars shady real estate syndicates wolfe shows us contemporary america with all the verve wit and insight that have made him our most admired novelist charlie crokers deliverance from his tribulations provides an unforgettable denouement to the most widely awaited hilarious and telling novel america has seen in ages tom wolfes most outstanding achievement to date