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Fiction Espionage

Our American Friend

A Novel

by (author) Anna Pitoniak

Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Initial publish date
Feb 2022
Category
Espionage, Literary, Contemporary Women
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781982158811
    Publish Date
    Feb 2022
    List Price
    $13.99 USD
  • Downloadable audio file

    ISBN
    9781797136035
    Publish Date
    Feb 2022
    List Price
    $35.99
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781982158804
    Publish Date
    Feb 2022
    List Price
    $32.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781982158965
    Publish Date
    Feb 2023
    List Price
    $24.99

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Description

A globe-spanning thriller of love and betrayal about a mysterious first lady with an explosive secret.

Paris, 1974. Lara Orlov and her family arrive from Moscow at the height of the Cold War, thanks to her father’s position as a diplomat. The years pass, and Lara becomes more and more enamored with the City of Lights. As a teenager in Paris, she falls deeply in love with a fellow Russian expat: the passionate, intellectual Sasha, who opens her eyes to the ills of the Soviet Union.

Decades later and across the globe, journalist Sofie Morse is taking some much-needed time off after several chaotic years covering Washington politics. But when she gets a call from the office of First Lady Lara Caine, her curiosity is piqued. Sofie, like the rest of the world, knows little about Lara—only that she was born in Soviet Russia and raised in Paris before marrying Henry Caine, the brash future president.

After decades of silence, Lara is finally ready to speak candidly about her past: about her father’s work for the KGB and about her ill-fated relationship with Sasha—which may be long in the past, but which could have explosive ramifications for the future. As Sofie begins to write Lara’s biography, she can’t help but wonder: Why is Lara revealing such sensitive information? And why now? Caught in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, both Lara and Sofie must ask themselves what really matters—and confront their own power to upend the global political order.

About the author

Anna Pitoniak is the author of Our American Friend, Necessary People, and The Futures. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked in book publishing, including as a senior editor at Random House. Anna grew up in Whistler, British Columbia. She graduated from Yale, and lives in New York City.

Anna Pitoniak's profile page