Western Alliances

by Wilton Barnhardt

First published 2023

Roberto and Rachel Costa have never worked a day in their lives. The summer of 2008 finds them living off their father Salvador's Wall Street banking fortune while he runs one of the biggest financial institutions in America. Then everything falls apart. As the financial crisis destroys their father's empire, the two adult children flee across Europe, moving from an upscale Paris apartment to a disaster of a London hotel. Their journey takes them through ancient churches, along Mediterranean shores, and into the Serbian countryside before landing them in Moscow for dangerous encounters. Meanwhile, their scheming hypochondriac mother Lena watches from the sidelines. Roberto and Rachel must finally confront what their father's choices mean for their family and face the consequences of a lifetime of privilege. The siblings discover that growing up means reckoning with loyalty, ambition, and what they truly owe each other.

Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama

Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, privilege

Setting: Europe, London, Moscow, Paris, Serbia

Period: 2008

400 pages · Kindle Edition · St. Martin's Press

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