Nick Carraway (Macdonald Carey) resides among Long Island's elite during the 1920s. His enigmatic neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Alan Ladd), invites him to a party at his mansion, where they become acquainted. Nick slowly gets caught up in Gatsby's obsession with his lost love, the beautiful Daisy Buchanan (Betty Field), who is now married to Tom Buchanan (Barry Sullivan). Nick foresees inevitable tragedy as Gatsby undertakes bolder and bolder advances toward Daisy.