"Moral and social degeneration of the heirs of a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, tobacco fortune." Cf. Hanna, A. Mirror for the nation
The novel is described in Wikipedia as "a thinly disguised account of the real-life scandal involving torch singer Libby Holman and her husband, tobacco heir Zachary Smith Reynolds." The movie by the same name changed the location to Texas and the family wealth came from oil rather than tobacco