Summary

In Chapter 1, the narrator begins by introducing an English journalist who came to New York. After dating one of the city’s eligible bachelors, a 42-year-old investment banker, she thought he would ask her to marry him. Instead, he took a “rain check” on their next date and never called back (1). The narrator then welcomes readers to 1990s New York City: the “Age of Un-Innocence,” where love has died (1). People have plenty of sex that result in friendships or business deals—never love. The rest of the chapter goes through various conversations between her and various groups of friends, including: a couple Parker and Roger, who support her theory that love still exists in the gay community; Skipper, a young cynic who does not believe in love; her friend Carrie, who dates a younger artist named Barkley and does not “give a shit” when...