Darby first arrived at the Barbizon as a 17-year-old in 1952, back when it was a reputable hot spot for aspiring young models, actresses, editors, writers, and secretaries—“a bevy of princesses holed up in a high tower.” Darby now resides in a rent-controlled apartment directly below the condo occupied by Rose and her boyfriend, Griff, a successful politician and divorced father of two. The Barbizon itself, with all of its former glory and glamour, comes to life in the novel—serving as a lens into the past and providing a strong link between the two women as the story moves back and forth between Rose’s perspective in the present-day, and Darby’s perspective in 1952.