rgency, intimacy, and piercing emotion, this New York Times bestselling novel is the riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed, and abandoned by a desire for a world beyond her own.

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book - A Washington Post Top Ten Book of the Year - A Chicago Tribune Noteworthy Book - A Huffington Post Best Book - A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year - A Kirkus Best Fiction Book - A Goodreads Best Book

"Exhilarating... Ingenious... an intricate puzzle of self-belief and self-doubt." --The New York Times Book Review

Nora Eldridge is a reliable, but unremarkable, friend and neighbor, always on the fringe of other people's achievements. But the arrival of the Shahid family--dashing Skandar, a Lebanese scholar, glamorous Sirena, an Italian artist, and their son, Reza--draws her into a complex and exciting new world. Nora's happiness pushes her beyond her boundaries, until Sirena's careless ambition leads to a shattering betrayal.