New York, 1980s. Alice Burns - a young book editor - is deep into a manuscript about the morass of family life. The observations within resonate, because she has just watched her own family implode. Thus begins a novel which follows Alice as she navigates high school, first love and sexism at an elite college, a spell in 1970s Ireland, and a tragedy that sends her stateside as the US embraces a cowboy actor named Reagan. Brilliantly blending domestic twists with turns created by global affairs.