First published 2026
Róisín meets Red in their Irish hometown in 1982. Red has a reputation for causing trouble, but Róisín discovers his intelligence and humor beneath the surface. Their unlikely friendship deepens until Red faces legal problems that force him to abandon his family and flee to England. Years pass. Róisín and Red grow into adults on separate paths, their connection reduced to a thin thread. Red has a talent for vanishing, yet something keeps drawing them back together. When Róisín travels to London for Christmas with her estranged father, she gets pulled back into Red's chaotic world. She wants to recover what they once shared, but Red keeps moving away from her. The weight of their past decisions presses down on their present. Róisín struggles to bridge the distance between them, uncertain whether she can reach the person Red has become.
Genres: drama, literary-fiction, friendship, coming-of-age, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: bittersweet, emotionally-complex, intimate, introspective, melancholic
Tropes: distance-and-longing, friends-to-lovers, second-chance, unrequited-connection
Setting: Ireland, England, London
Period: 1982, contemporary
288 pages · Hardcover · Riverhead Books
Content warnings: addiction