The story of 'The Glimpses of the Moon' is set in the early 1920s. Nick Lansing and Susy Branch are both scarcely getting by in the rich social circles they move in and they can't afford to get married. They make an agreement. They will get married and stay together for as long as they can but when they run out of money, they are free to divorce each other. The book continues Edith Wharton's inspection of New York society.