First published 2018
Jakob and Emmanuelle emerge from World War II concentration camps as friends who become lovers by necessity. American sponsors bring them to New York's Lower East Side, where they work brutal jobs for little pay. Jakob transforms himself through decades of relentless effort, building wealth in diamonds and real estate. His son Max graduates from Harvard and moves among America's elite families. Max marries a society bride in an opulent wedding, honeyymoons in Tahiti, and settles into a palatial Greenwich home. But his perfect wife proves to be someone else entirely. As his marriage crumbles and children arrive, Max faces his first real struggles. He must learn what his father knew about perseverance and sacrifice while forging his own path and setting an example for the next generation.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: New York, Lower East Side, Greenwich, Tahiti
Period: World War II, Postwar
336 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press
Content warnings: war