First published 2009
Nan has spent twelve years abroad with her husband Ryan, but now they're back in New York trying to build a new life. She's launching a business while they renovate their home, and Ryan suddenly wants children. The timing feels impossible. Then sixteen-year-old Grayer X shows up drunk at her door in the middle of the night. He was her former charge, and he wants answers about why she left him behind years ago. Nan can't explain what she doesn't understand herself. Against her better judgment, she gets pulled back into helping Grayer and his younger brother Stilton navigate their parents' vicious divorce. This means dealing with Mrs. X again and reentering the ruthless world of Upper East Side privilege she thought she'd escaped. Nan discovers that the wealthy families who prioritized money over love now find themselves with neither. She's fighting the same battles against entitled elites, but this time the stakes feel higher as she confronts the guilt and unresolved feelings from her past.
Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: New York, Upper East Side
Period: 21st-century
305 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books
Content warnings: emotional-abuse