When they are returning from the trip they kill a child and a few minutes later they crash into a tree. Everyone of them runs away. In this night Clyde loses his job, his money and Hortense. After working in many cities and changing his name many times he goes to Lycurgus to work for his uncle. In the first night he sees a pretty, rich girl Sondra Finchley at his uncle's house. At that time he was nobody for the society of Sondra. Clyde starts to work as a usual worker but later he is put in charge of many girls. There he meets Roberta. They are not allowed to see each other because it's forbidden but they fall in love and meet daily. Later on one evening Clyde meets Sondra. As of this evening they meet more and more. Clyde doesn't love Roberta anymore but she is going to have a baby and wants Clyde to marry her. After a long time of thinking he decides to kill her and takes her to the lake Big Bittern. He leaves Roberta drown. After a few days the police catch him and take him to jail. The jury in a court finds him guilty and he is sentenced to death. Before his death he realizes that what he had done was wrong but it's too late. He is ready for dying on the electric chair.

The main "message" of the book:
This novel is one of the best works of critical realism in American literature. The author shows that money isn't the most important value. Every society should value also moral qualities of a person.