"This house, this place, knows all my secrets."A story of summer, secrets, love, and lies: in the course of a singular day on Cape Cod, one woman must make a life-changing decision that has been brewing for decades.It is a perfect July morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at "The Paper Palace"-the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.Story Locale: Cape Cod

A PERFECT SUMMER READ: With its vivid Cape Cod setting, the book instantly transports readers to the water's edge and evokes summer vacation - in the woods, in the pond, at the beach - from the family activities to the special summer friendships.MADE FOR BOOK CLUBS: Elle's decision represents the life choices we all struggle with: self versus family; romance versus pragmatism; keeping the peace versus telling the truth; protecting the past versus indulging in the future.PROPULSIVE STRUCTURE AND PLENTY OF SECRETS: The narrative powerfully toggles back and forth between the present and the past, unfurling the history of this family and its bearing on Elle's situation, slowly revealing the secrets that she has been keeping and all the ways they impact her impending decision.CONNECTED AUTHOR:The Paper Palace has been optioned by HBO as a mini-series, with the author attached to write and executive produce.COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION: We won this book as underbidder in a fierce, large auction, and sales have been made in 20 other countries, including Viking UK, to date.