First published 2023
Andy Westfield runs a prestigious movie studio from his forty-fourth floor office, commanding private jets and company cars after nearly twenty years at the top. The son of Hollywood royalty, he has sacrificed his marriage for his career, finding meaning only in his work and his relationship with his daughter and grandchildren. Then the studio sells and the new owner's son takes Andy's position. Jobless and humiliated, Andy spirals before deciding to escape Los Angeles entirely. He rents a luxury home for six months in a small coastal town two hours from London. There he hires Violet Smith, a former journalist at her own crossroads, to organize his affairs. When Violet accidentally leaves behind the manuscript of her unfinished novel, Andy reads it and recognizes a story perfect for film adaptation. This discovery might offer both of them the fresh start they desperately need. Steel crafts a story about second chances and the unexpected paths that emerge from professional setbacks.
Genres: fiction, drama, contemporary, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Los Angeles, London
Period: 21st-century
272 pages · Hardcover · Delactorte Press