First published 1986
Maggie Flood sits at her typewriter, caught between the demands of her craft and the glittering opportunities her personal life presents. Her first marriage opens doors to political circles where power brokers shape policy over cocktails. Her second draws her into artistic salons and the machinery of popular culture. Each relationship propels her deeper into worlds where influence flows through private conversations and public gestures carry hidden meanings. Maggie must balance her identity as a writer with the roles these rarefied environments demand of her. The choices she makes in boardrooms and bedrooms will determine not only her career trajectory but her understanding of herself. Howard traces how personal decisions ripple outward into the larger currents of American society, where the political and cultural elite determine the nation's direction.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, social-commentary
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
268 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books