In this compulsive story of betrayal, old bonds and buried scandals, one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege and the true cost of power.
Martin and Ben were friends for decades â best friends, Martin would have said â before the terrible events at Benâs 40th birthday party tore them apart. So when Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of the dazzling Fitzmaurice family after seven years of silence, he canât resist the chance to get his revenge.
Ben has risen through the ranks of power, and is now touted as the next Prime Minister. But Martin canât help but notice certain flies in the ointment... Benâs wife, Serena, for instance, whose privileged existence is beginning to feel like a gilded cage. Or their daughter, Cosima, an environmental activist fighting against everything her parents once stood for. Or the disgraced MP Richard Take, determined to make his big comeback. And then thereâs Fliss, the Fitzmaurice black sheep, whose untimely death sparks more suspicion than closure. Through their intertwined stories, we see a family â and a nation â unravelling under the weight of its secrets.
With everyone watching, the stage is set for a reckoning. It's time for Martin and Ben to confront what love truly means when everythingâfamily, power, and loyaltyâis on the line.
âSpeaks truth to power in such an entertaining, gripping wayâ MARIAN KEYES
âThis timely story about the abuse of power is one of those books you just want to inhale in one goâ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
âGorgeously written, utterly compelling, and full of characters you will love and hate â and also love to hateâ SARA COLLINS
âThe thinking personâs thriller. Part Highsmith, part Waugh ... A superbly gripping plotâ LUCY FOLEY
Elizabeth Day is the author of five novels and four works of non-fiction, including her Sunday Times bestselling novel Magpie, and hit memoir How to Fail. She is the creator and host of the chart-topping podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day.