Bret Easton Elliss debut, Less Than Zero, is one of the signal novels of the last thirty years, and he now follows those infamous teenagers into an even more desperate middle age.Clay, a successful screenwriter, has returned from New York to Los Angeles to help cast his new movie, and hes soon drifting through a long-familiar circle. Blair, his former girlfriend, is married to Trent, an influential manager whos still a bisexual philanderer, and their Beverly Hills parties attract various levels of fame, fortune and power. Then theres Clays childhood friend Julian, a recovering addict, and their old dealer, Rip, face-lifted beyond recognition and seemingly even more sinister than in his notorious past.But Clays own demons emerge once he meets a gorgeous young actress determined to win a role in his movie. And when his life careens completely out of control, he has no choice but to plumb the darkest recesses of his character and come to terms with his proclivity for betrayal.A genuine literary event.From the Hardcover edition.