Six of Fitzgerald's best-loved stories appear here, starting with the title tale, in which a hostess regrets her success at transforming a visiting cousin from wallflower to coquette. Other selections include "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," a glittering fantasy about the corrupting power of wealth; "The Ice Palace," a quasibiographical story of a restless Southern belle; "The Offshore Pirate"; "The Jelly Bean"; and "May Day." Each considers timeless themes—love, money, power, the search for happiness — that keep them enduringly relevant.