First published 2026
Nina Larkin lives on Cambridge Road in Rochester, New York in 1977. Her newly divorced friend gives her a copy of The Joy of Sex. The book forces Nina to confront the absence of intimacy in her own marriage. Her eldest daughter Clara experiences first love while Nina yearns for her own midlife transformation. Nina begins an affair with a neighbor that gives her unexpected freedom. The relationship threatens both families' standing in the community and destroys Clara's stability as she approaches adulthood. Years pass. Clara becomes a food stylist in New York City but cannot escape the memory of her mother's scandal. A family wedding draws her back to Rochester. Clara struggles with personal troubles and makes a choice that completely changes her direction. Sweeney explores the complicated bonds between mothers and daughters while examining how desire shapes our decisions and their consequences across generations.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Cambridge Road, New York City, Rochester
Period: 1977
448 pages · Paperback · Harper Large Print