Jay Gatsby is a mystery to Nick. On the surface he is a man of wealth and excess—throwing wild, extravagant parties that run deep into the night. But cracks begin to show in this facade as we meet Daisy Buchanan, the lady across the lake who is the object of his quiet obsession. A paragon of the Great American Novel, The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story which captures the hollow decadence of the Jazz Age. As events unfold, both Gatsby and narrator Nick are forced to confront the rot beneath the shiny surface of high society and the unreality of the American dream.