The Bonfire of the Vanities

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story, a satire about ambition, racism, and greed in 1980s New York City, centers on three main characters: the successful, arrogant, and very self-conscious bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant D.A. Larry Kramer, and British expatriate journalist Peter Fallow. Fallow's career is revived when he is asked to cover the investigation of a young black man who had been the victim of a hit and run by a white driver (Sherman McCoy's mistress, who was driving Sherman's car with Sherman in the passenger seat). When Sherman is identified as the owner of the car from the hit and run attack, Fallow is ordered to prepare a smear campaign against Sherman McCoy, who becomes the most hated man in New York City as a result. However, a chance encounter with McCoy causes Fallow to have a change of heart and secretly attempts to help clear McCoy's name.

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