The Emperor's Children

Danielle, Marina and Julius are young, bright New Yorkers living at America's beating heart in the early years of the twenty-first century. They've been friends since college, but the bonds between them have loosened as their lives, loves and ambitions have taken each down a different path. The arrival of Marina's cousin Bootie fresh from the provinces and keen to make his mark, forces them to confront their desires and leaves them dangerously exposed. And then on September 11th, 2001 the whole world shifts. Irrevocably honest, moving and bitingly funny, The Emperor's Children brings us face to face with the enduring gap between who we are and who we long to be. Through her raw and poignant depiction of the lives of three characters, Messud succeeds in demonstrating how utterly we are defined by the times in which we live.