Shattered after surviving a boating accident that killed her husband and two children, Eve Miller lies in an Australian hospital, physically recovering yet emotionally dead. But life wants her back and it barges into her room in the form of flamboyant fellow patient, opera singer Isabel Stein. The renowned diva offers to let Eve stay at her country estate outside New York City, where she can recuperate from her injuries and hopefully elude the press who continue to hound her for details of her family tragedy. It is there that Eve meets Noah, Isabel's protégé (and, perhaps, younger lover?)—a moody composer whose sorrow seems to match Eve's own. Soon Eve finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Noah as well as the emotionally heightened world of opera. Gradually Eve allows herself to open up to opera's magnificent drama, and discovers there is more going on behind the scenes than she knows. This remarkable debut explores women's relationships, the nature of fame, and the forces that keep us going in the face of heartbreak, helping us find a way to heal.
PRAISE:
"Hypnotic...unpredictable...an engrossing novel that takes on big ideas like the dark side of human nature and the perils of fame." —The New York Times
"Segal's exceptional debut suggests that fame wanted or not takes its toll no matter how it is acquired.... With razor-sharp insight and adroit imagery, Segal masterfully builds layers of tension by methodically exposing her tragically flawed characters' true motives." —Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)
"A sophisticated meditation on music, grief, and the bond of mother and child, as well as ambition, power, and betrayal....Segal's writing sparkles with originality...Her imagery is precise, a bit satirical...a tender story of one woman's odyssey of rediscovery." —Dallas Morning News
