In addition to being a heartbreaking love tale, The Sun Also Rises is a brutally honest group portrait of foolish American expats who are drinking, partying, and chasing their dreams in post-World War I Europe. The story's protagonist, the tired journalist Jake Barnes, is plagued by his hopeless love for the extravagantly decadent Lady Brett Ashley as well as a wound he sustained during the war. The contenders for Brett's errant affections are at their most heated when Jake, Brett, and their pals depart Paris and meet up in Pamplona for the annual running of the bulls event.