The Swans of Fifth Avenue opens with a brief fairy tale. A nymph or sprite comes upon a group of swans and is instantly able to perceive their beauty and fragility. The lead swan, with eyes that reflect her “unfathomable loneliness,” brings him into the circle. Even though he knows that he can never be one of them, he feels like he has come home.

Four of the swans—Slim Hawks Hayward Keith, Marella Agnelli, Gloria Guinness, and Pamela Churchill Hayward Harriman—gather for lunch at the exclusive La Côte Basque restaurant to discuss their outrage over Truman Capote’s new short story, “La Côte Basque 1965,” that was published in the most recent issue of Esquire magazine. As they take turns excoriating Truman for his betrayal and vowing to cut him out of society, Slim thinks bitterly about the way her own secrets had been used, especially when she used to call him “True Heart.” The collective sympathy is with Babe Paley—referred to only as “her” in this section, whose husband’s exploits were only thinly veiled in the story. The swans now piece together their own story, about how Truman made it into their circle in the first place.