Glory follows Martin Edelweiss, a young Russian émigré whose restless idealism and longing for heroic meaning set him apart from his more practical peers. Educated in Europe and England, Martin is drawn to romantic notions of courage, adventure, and self-sacrifice, while remaining emotionally awkward and socially marginal. His unrequited love and sense of displacement deepen his desire to prove himself through a decisive act.

The novel culminates in an ambiguous and daring journey that may represent either genuine heroism or youthful delusion. Less overtly experimental than Nabokov’s later works, Glory is quietly lyrical and introspective, examining exile, nostalgia, and the tension between imagined greatness and lived reality.