Cleopatra and Frankenstein

New York is slipping through Cleo's fingers as she tries to find her place in the city that never sleeps after fleeing England. Although she goes from party to party every night, she knows almost no one. Her student visa is about to expire when she meets Frank, who is twenty years older and has a successful life filled with 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 impulsively marry without realizing that this will irreversibly change their lives, as well as the lives of everyone around them—whether it is Cleo's best friend, who is trying to understand their gender identity, or Frank's financially dependent sister, who starts dating older men when she runs out of money, or even Cleo and Frank's own lives, 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 that are born on unexpectedly perfect nights.