Shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish 2020 Fiction Prize

One sweltering midsummer night, two young women forge an unlikely bond. One of them is full of hope and ambition, the other devoid of it. How can they lead good lives, they wonder? What will they give to the world? By the time the sun comes up, their futures have been rewritten and their fates decided. Captivating and involving, in turns joyful and desolate, this haunting mystery is an exploration of vicariousness, virtue and privilege.

Bibi Berki was born to Hungarian parents in Cambridge, spent her childhood in Hull, and then settled in London. She trained as a news reporter and has worked on regional and national titles, and as a film journalist as well. She was one of the founding press officers of the Greater London Authority, and now co-runs a production company which specialises in audio dramas. She is married with two children.