A sharply funny and heartfelt novel about female friendship - and about how, in our online lives, the line between personal empowerment and consumerism is increasingly blurred.
Lilian Quick has looked up to her cousin Florence her whole life. Florence is everything Lilian is not- brave, adventurous, American. They've been out of touch for twenty years - but Lilian, forty, single and struggling as a pet portraitist in Toronto, has been watching Florence, who has become internet-famous as Eleven Novak, the face of a feminine-lifestyle empowerment brand.
When Eleven comes to town on a sales tour, she welcomes her long-lost cousin with open arms. Lilian quickly enrols in the Ascendency, Eleven's expensive signature course in spiritual awakening and marketing, and heads to The Temple in Manhattan. Eleven is going to help Lilian build her brand and be her best self- confident, affluent, self-actualised.
In just three months, Lilian's life changes drastically and becomes everything she's dreamed of. But is it everything she wants? And can she really trust Eleven?