Breakfast At Tiffanys Summary

Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's remains one of his most-beloved works, introducing the famous Holly Golightly to the literary world. Set in New York City during World War II, the novella is told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator, moving into his brownstone and inaugurating his career as a novelist. Late one night, in the hallway, he runs into Holly.

One night, Holly knocks on his window, confessing to having watched him from her balcony. She crawls in through the window, and crawls into bed. She tells the narrator that he reminds her of her brother and she feels safe with him. However, when he asks her a personal question, she runs back to her apartment. Holly enjoys throwing parties, inviting numerous men that she knows. Inviting the narrator to one such party, where he meets Jose. The narrator begins to fall in love with Holly, but she agrees to marry Jose after becoming pregnant.

Although he is devastated by this turn of events, the two go horseback riding, which causes Holly to miscarry. In the meantime, the police show up, and arrest Holly for transporting drugs into prison for a notorious gangster. With the narrator's help, Holly escapes to Brazil. After much time passes, the narrator finally receives a post card from Buenos Aires, where Holly is living, where she's fallen in love with a rich, married man. She promises to write again, but the narrator never hears from her again, always wondering what became of her.