Chapter 3: Jordan Baker's Secret
Nick became romantically involved with Jordan Baker, a professional golfer who was staying with the Buchanans. Jordan was beautiful and cynical, representing the careless, sophisticated lifestyle of the wealthy elite. She told Nick about Tom's affair with Myrtle Wilson, a married woman who lived in the Valley of Ashes between West Egg and New York City.
The Valley of Ashes was a desolate industrial wasteland, home to working-class people like George Wilson, Myrtle's husband. George ran a garage and had no idea that his wife was having an affair with the wealthy Tom Buchanan, who visited her regularly in a small apartment above the garage.
Jordan's cynical worldview and Nick's growing disillusionment with the moral decay of the wealthy class created tension in their relationship. Nick began to question the values of the society he had entered and the authenticity of the friendships he was forming.