Told with urgency, intimacy, and piercing emotion, this  New York Times  bestselling novel is the riveting confession of a woman awakened, transformed, and abandoned by a desire for a world beyond her own. Nora Eldridge is a reliable, but unremarkable, friend and neighbor, always on the fringe of other people’s achievements. But the arrival of the Shahid family—dashing Skandar, a Lebanese scholar, glamorous Sirena, an Italian artist, and their son, Reza—draws her into a complex and exciting new world. Nora’s happiness pushes her beyond her boundaries, until Sirena’s careless ambition leads to a shattering betrayal. A  New York Times   Book Review  Notable Book • A  Washington Post  Top Ten Book of the Year • A  Chicago Tribune  Noteworthy Book • A  Huffington Post  Best Book • A  Boston Globe Best Book of the Year • A  Kirkus  Best Fiction Book • A Goodreads Best Book