When a mysterious man claims to be her long-missing brother, a woman must confront her family's closely guarded secrets in this delicious hybrid of mystery, drama, and elegance (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author). Washington, Dc, 2019- Laura Preston is a reclusive artist at odds with her older sister Beatrice as their elegant, formidable mother slowly slides into dementia. When a stranger contacts Laura claiming to be her brother who disappeared forty years earlier when the family lived in Bangkok, Laura ignores Bea's warnings of a scam and flies to Thailand to see if it can be true. But meeting him in person leads to more questions than answers. Bangkok, 1972- Genevieve and Robert Preston live in a beautiful house behind a high wall, raising their three children with the help of a cadre of servants. In these exotic surroundings, Genevieve strives to create a semblance of the life they would have had at home in the Us ballet and riding classes for the children, impeccable dinner parties, a meticulously kept home. But in truth, Robert works for American intelligence, Genevieve finds herself drawn into a passionate affair with her husband's boss, and their serene household is vulnerable to unseen dangers in a rapidly changing world and a country they don't really understand.