First published 2026
Lili Marwan drowns her thesis stress and family rejection in a Financial District bar when Aleksandr Petrov buys her a drink. The 22-year-old economics grad student champions democratic socialism and veganism. The magnetic banker escaped the Soviet Union decades ago and believes in free markets. Their one-night stand becomes a summer arrangement where Lili surrenders control during rough sex and finds her restless mind finally quiet. Aleksandr challenges every opinion she holds about capitalism and astrology. Despite their opposing worldviews and twenty-year age gap, they discover shared experiences that bridge their differences. Their casual encounters evolve into unexpected intimacy that alternates between breathtaking and devastating. As Lili navigates her ambition, grief over her dead parents, and complex desires, she must choose whether to risk profound loss again for the possibility of gain.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotionally-complex, intense, intimate, introspective, thought-provoking
Tropes: age-gap-romance, enemies-to-lovers, power-dynamics, second-chance-at-love
Setting: Financial District, Soviet Union
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
432 pages · Paperback · Orion
Content warnings: death, explicit-sexual-content