Only the elite get away with murder Anatomy of a Scandal meets The Maidens in this seductive dark academia thriller, an intoxicating, high-stakes tale of desire, betrayal, and the dangerous cost of power When a woman's affair ends in murder, it threatens to expose a scandal at the heart of one of America's most powerful universities Elizabeth Harker is married to Jeff, the incoming president of one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Their future is polished, public, and assured. Except Elizabeth is having an affair with a man inside the establishment - an involvement that is as dangerous as it is intoxicating. On the day of the presidential inauguration, moments before Elizabeth is due to step on stage and deliver a speech to be broadcast around the world, she learns her lover has been brutally murdered. As the university closes ranks and the death is absorbed into the ruthless machinery of reputation management, Elizabeth is forced to grieve in silence whilst protecting a secret that could destroy everything. But the harder she tries to contain the affair, the more she begins to see what lies behind the university's immaculate façade: a world where power is absolute and any threat to the institution is buried without hesitation. Because this was never just an affair. And this was never just a murder.