First published 2025
The protagonist faces an unexpected journey that takes her away from everything familiar. Steel places her character in circumstances that test long-held assumptions about home, belonging, and what truly matters. The central tension emerges as the protagonist must choose between the security of her past and the uncertain possibilities that lie ahead. Family relationships strain under the weight of distance and changing circumstances. Steel explores how physical separation can reveal emotional truths that proximity once obscured. The protagonist discovers that being far from the place she called home forces her to examine what home actually means. Through a series of encounters and revelations, she learns that the foundations of identity run deeper than geography or tradition. The story examines whether love and connection can survive when the familiar frameworks that once supported them fall away. At its emotional core, this novel asks whether we must sometimes lose our sense of home to truly find ourselves.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
256 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press