How could I have known where it would end, or even begin? That’s not true: how could I not have known.

Following the death of her disgraced fiancé, Liv returns to New York City where she finds shelter in the apartment of a former mentor. Lonely and isolated, Liv ventures to a party and encounters an intriguing duo: Damon, a charismatic jewelry designer, and Isabel, a beguiling older woman who’s infatuated with him. Liv attempts to escape her own despair and enmeshes herself in Damon and Isabel’s provocative dynamic, replacing solitary nights with their glittering parties.

Until Rex, a sadistic journalist, invades Liv’s new social circle, threatening to expose compromising details from her past. As Liv begins to unravel, she embarks on an all-consuming affair with Damon, propelled by desire and denial of the truth that haunts her. But her growing bond with Isabel complicates matters. As their lives dangerously intertwine over the course of one scorching summer, taking them from the East End of Long Island to Lake Como in Italy, Liv discovers that the most shattering secrets are the ones we keep from ourselves.

The Plunge is a spellbinding, sensuous psychological thriller that plumbs the depths of obsession and betrayal, while offering an unflinching examination of loss and longing. Told in a distinctive lyrical voice laced with razor-sharp wit and striking emotional complexity, Lila Raicek makes an electrifying debut in this book of the summer everyone will be talking about. Perfect for listeners of Emma Cline’s The Guest and Raven Leilani’s Luster.