The stunning new novel from Elinor Lipman, the sparkling comic writer praised by Maggie O'Farrell as 'Hilarious. Imagine, if you can, a cross between Philip Roth and Melissa Bank.' Alice Thrift graduated second in her class at Harvard Medical School and dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon to help the injured in the third world. Unfortunately, despite ace grades, she has no people skills and the world's worst bedside manner. Surviving on no sleep and no social life, it is only a matter of time before she makes a mistake that could cost her her career. She turns to her charming room mate, Leo, for advice until Ray, a smooth-talking fudge salesman, walks into her life and tries to turn it upside down. With Lipman's unmatched ear for dialogue and terrific pace, this is a seriously good comedy which puts so-called romance under the microscope.