First published 2018
Alice works as a young editor in New York with dreams of becoming a writer herself. In 2003, she starts an affair with Ezra Blazer, a celebrated author decades her senior. Five years later, Amar sits detained at Heathrow Airport. The Iraqi-American economist was traveling to visit family in Kurdistan when authorities stopped him. He spends the final weekend of 2008 trapped in the liminal space beyond customs, unable to continue his journey or return home. These two stories unfold separately, revealing the subtle threads that connect Alice and Amar across time and circumstance. Their lives intersect in unexpected ways as the novel explores power imbalances in relationships and society. Halliday examines how personal connections form against the backdrop of global politics and cultural divides.
Genres: fiction, romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, contemporary-romance
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: intersecting-lives, power-dynamics
Setting: Heathrow Airport, Kurdistan, New York
Period: 2003, 2008
336 pages · Paperback · Atlas Contact