What happens when you lose something the world never knew was yours? A shattering and compulsive novel about transgression and desire, secrecy and loss

SHORTLISTED FOR THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARD What would you do if you lost someone the world never knew was yours? For three years, Ana has been consumed by an affair with Connor, a client at her law firm. Their love has been consigned to hotel rooms and dark corners of pubs, their relationship kept hidden from the world. So the morning that Ana’s company receives a call to say that Connor is dead, her secret grief has nowhere to go. Desperate for an outlet, Ana seeks out the shadowy figure who has always stood just beyond her reach - Connor's wife Rebecca… 'Utterly gripping' RODDY DOYLE 'A triumph – crackling with psychological and sexual ambiguity' JULIE MYERSON, OBSERVER 'This book is just sublime… I loved every page’ CAITRIONA BALFE 'Unmissable ... Incredible' STYLIST ‘Amazing ... I read it in one sitting, completely swept up in Ana’s fragmented narrative' EMMA HEALEY 'Dark, riveting, powerful' ELIZABETH DAY

"Excellent ... An eviscerating account of modern marriage" - INDEPENDENT.CO.UK

"Sex, work and motherhood all come under the microscope in this vivid portrait of the agony of being "the other woman"" - DAILY MAIL

"This lyrical account of an adulterous affair and its brutal aftermath is all the more effective and affecting for the spare, sparse style and I expect it to win as many awards as Sarah Crossan’s YA fiction has done" - RED

"A stunner" - Good Housekeeping

"Raw, emotional and wistful" - Woman & Home

"Compelling and beautifully wrought" - SUNDAY TIMES

"The princess of pacing … Crossan always finds humour and humanity in the darkness; it’s impossible not to read it in a single gulp" - THE TIMES

"Truly remarkable" - IRISH TIMES