Charley Byrne isn't really living. At age 29, she hunkers down in her apartment above the bookstore she manages, afraid of a 7-year curse. Then quirky activist Xander Wallace lures her out of social exile with the prospect of friendship and romance. Charley joins Xander's circle of friends diverse in their heritage, race, gender and sexual orientation. She thrives, even leaving her comfort zone to join protests in a city struggling with social justice ills.

But the new friendships bring back-to-back betrayals that threaten the bookstore-Charley's haven-and propel her into a dangerous depression. Can her friends save the store? And Charley?

Beautiful and Terrible Things offers a compelling portrait of modern American life in a major city with its vibrant culture and rampant social issues. At once enlightening and entertaining, it reminds us that friendship has the power to validate, destroy, transform, and save lives.