Cleopatra and Frankenstein

New York is slipping through Cleo's fingers. She fled England in search of her place in the city that never sleeps, but despite moving from party to party every night, she knows almost no one. Her student visa is about to expire when she meets Frank, a man twenty years her senior with a successful life and all the excesses Cleo lacks. He offers her happiness, the freedom to paint, and the chance to apply for a residency visa. She offers him a life imbued with beauty, art, and perhaps a reason to cut back on drinking. He is everything she needs right now.

Cleo and Frank marry impulsively, never expecting that it will irreversibly change their lives and the lives of everyone around them—whether it is Cleo's best friend, who is trying to understand their gender identity; Frank's financially dependent sister, who starts dating older men when she runs out of money; or Cleo and Frank themselves, as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a surprising and painfully touching debut novel about the spontaneous decisions that shape our lives and the imperfect relationships born on unexpectedly perfect nights.