FROM THE BOOK JACKET:
At once a sensual and irresistible mystery and a haunting work of rich psychological insight and emotional depth, The Whole World marks the beginning of a brilliant literary career for a superb, limitlessly gifted author.
Set in the richly evoked environs of Cambridge, England, The Whole World unearths the desperate secrets kept by five complex people--students, professors, detectives, husbands, mothers--secrets leading to explosive consequences.
Two Americans studying at Cambridge, Polly and Liv, become quick friends, strangers to their new home, survivors of past mistakes. They find a common interest in Nick, a handsome, charming, seemingly guileless graduate student. For a time, the three engage in harmless flirtation, growing closer while doing research for Gretchen Paul, the blind daughter of a famed novelist. But betrayal, followed by Nick's inexplicable disappearance, brings long-buried histories to the surface.
The investigation raises countless questions, the newspapers report all the most salacious details--from the crime that scars Polly's past to the searing truths concealed in the photographs Gretchen cannot see. Soon the three young lovers will discover how little they know about each other, and how devastating the ripples of past actions can be.
