SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2025

AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST 2025

'This summer's hottest read'
SUNDAY TIMES
'You won't want to put it down'
BRITISH VOGUE
'Sticky, twisting and dangerous'
REBECCA K REILLY

It's summer. An unnamed young man walks through the gates of a luxurious mansion in the South of France, ready to join the Blake family on their annual holiday. Here, during dreamlike days lounging by the pool and nights blurring into opulent parties, he quickly falls for Felix, the Blake's eldest son. He is everything the man wants to be - handsome, charismatic, wealthy - and his desire is surprisingly reciprocated. Suddenly, a new world of money and power feels within reach.

But when summer ends and the two men return to London, the cracks in the Blakes' careful fa ade begin to show. With the two tormented by demons of their own, their bond risks being pulled apart at the seams. Their secrets and the choices they make will change not only their lives, but the future of those around them.