Dana Horowitz is a former adjunct English professor. She is doing her best to navigate a world dominated by a thriving space-travel industry and the societal collapse triggered by that industry’s effects. She is barely holding on, and can see no way out — but one. When she unexpectedly runs into her old friend Riley, who is living with life-threatening liver cancer, she decides to dedicate her time to caring for Riley during a six-month induced hibernation as part of a revolutionary new cancer treatment.
As Dana waits for Riley to wake up from the treatment, she remembers their intense friendship — their history of betrayal, toxicity, and pain. As Dana becomes increasingly entangled in Riley's life and discovers her friend's disturbing secrets, she grapples with the realization that their bond may not be as genuine as she had once believed.
Riley Mallory combines a work of speculative fiction and a literary tour de force, exploring themes of friendship, ambition, and the consequences of power. Drawing inspiration from Elena Ferrante, Naomi Alderman, and Emily St. John Mandel, Governor General’s literary award finalist Naomi Lewis is back offering a thought-provoking and unfamiliar take on a world we thought we knew.