A seductive, sensual and sinister love triangle set in 1930s America and inspired by the infamous Nabokov marriage
Zoya Andropova, a young Russian refugee, finds herself in an elite New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by her new country's paranoia about Soviet spies.
When she meets charismatic fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov - whose books Zoya has obsessed over for years - everything seems to change. But she soon discovers that Leo is bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera, and that their relationship is far more complex than Zoya could ever have imagined.
Zoya Andropova, a young Russian refugee, finds herself in an elite New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by her new country's paranoia about Soviet spies.
When she meets charismatic fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov - whose books Zoya has obsessed over for years - everything seems to change. But she soon discovers that Leo is bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera, and that their relationship is far more complex than Zoya could ever have imagined.
A ravishing tale of love, loss, desire and betrayal . At once a gripping psychological thriller and a finely crafted work of literature ... Celt is an exquisite writer; her sentences take hold of you and will not let go . Nothing less than an exhibition of stylistic virtuosity, a pyrotechnic display of fine writing Financial Times