Publisher's Synopsis
Gracie Mueller seems like an average person. Married, mother of two. Owns a house with her husband, Randy, in upstate New York. Life is balanced and (relatively) honest. But she has a lot to hide--she's not even a US citizen-- and when Randy's failing career as a real estate agent makes finances tight, he leaves town for a better job, their home goes into foreclosure, and Gracie turns back to the creatively illegal lifestyle of her past to keep things afloat for her kids. After all, how many times can a woman lose everything? An expert in fake identities, she becomes Tracey Bueller, who later becomes Mariana DeFelice. She's an architect and designer, a musician and an actress. After a deadly stint upstate when a friend asks too many questions, she leaves town for New York City, finding her way into the best school in Manhattan for her kids, where she gets a job as the drama teacher. But as she struggles to keep her web of lies spun taut and her secrets hidden, more questions about her past are raised. She never intended to be a cheat, a liar, a thief, or a killer; she just can't afford for anyone to know what she's done. Written with the style, energy, and penetrating insight that made her memoir Smashed a bestselling phenomenon, Koren Zailckas's new novel confirms her growing reputation as a psychological novelist that can stand up to the best of them. You won't be able to stop turning the pages.
