Author: Navidad Thelamour
 
A timely and powerful novel about what it means to navigate hidden status lines and what it means to step over them that is at once a family saga, a glimpse behind the veil of a broken marriage, and a quest for the new-age American Dream while exploring the treacherous fault lines of American culture. The Dessommes family has had their share of troubles — as rival siblings Vince and Jillian can attest — but as Vince prepares to step into his birthright as CEO of the family’s holdings, the repercussions of this looming shift in power and a cascade of events bring together a diverse cast of characters: Vince’s wife, Delaney, a would-be social worker who unwittingly gave up her chance at a career for a ritzy marriage she never really wanted; her best friend, Aaliyah, who still believes in the American Dream, even though her trials with corporate climbing make it more and more difficult to put faith in; Micah, a social and corporate climber who has everything Aaliyah is trying to attain but still reaches for more – possibly to their detriment; Nigel, a former classmate of Vince who’s confounded by the extravagant world Vince travels in and tries to resist the unrelenting pull it has on his life; Paige, the prodigal daughter of a Dessommes family friend whose reputation precedes her; and Jillian, the abdicated social princess of their circle who has a little problem with razor blades and haunting memories from her past that never seem to go away.