Written in 1956, The Sweet Bird of Youth is one of Tennessee Williams' most famous works. Chance Wayne, a ruthless yet ambitious young man, offers his services to the mature famous actress Alexandra del Lago. He arrives with her in a town in Florida, his hometown, and is confronted by the conservative province of the American South, where social racism, violence, and the law of the stronger prevail.

Both psychological shipwrecks, each for their own reasons, Alexandra and her companion resort to the artificial paradise of drugs, hoping it will help them recreate the illusory life they had hoped to lead. By the end of the play, the actress returns to the lights and fame, while her hapless suitor is crushed by the very social system that had sustained him for years.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]