Skin Contact

A razor-sharp exploration of intimacy, non-monogamous desire, and motherhood

‘A grieving woman opens her marriage after the death of her mother. It goes mostly well – until her husband falls in love with someone else…’
NEW YORK TIMES, T**he Novels Everyone Will Be Reading This Summer**

‘Deeply readable, this will be the hottest, sluttiest book of the summer’
ALICE SLATER, AUTHOR OF LET THE BAD TIMES ROLL

‘Novels about non-monogamy are hardly a novelty nowadays, but Skin Contact is a smart, involving debut written with an empathy and insight that ensures it never feels passé’
DAILY MAIL

‘A fresh take on making marriage work in the modern age . . . one not to miss’
MARIE CLAIRE

‘Acute and witty on female desire’
FINANCIAL TIMES, Five of the Best Debut Novels

Unmoored by her mother’s sudden death, Frances has never felt so diminished, or so old. She’s painfully aware that strangers no longer look at her the same way – and that she’s now, at thirty-two, older than the great aunt for whom she was named, who was killed in the seventies under mysterious circumstances involving an extramarital affair.

Her husband, Ben, will do anything to help Frances regain her vivacity and sense of purpose. So when Frances suggests that they open their marriage, Ben complies.

Over the next two years, they explore their sexualities and latent kinks; they navigate jealousy, betrayal, desire, and obsession; they defend their choices – and their new identities – to confused friends. They do all of this together, as a team. But when Ben finds himself falling in love with another woman, just as Frances realizes she’s ready to settle down and have a baby, they are forced to confront the consequences of their experiment.