Emily

Control is a luxury. Love is a liability.

Emily Walton does not just live in Buxton; she curates it.

From the sanctuary of her family's historic Peak District estate, Emily manages the town's social calendar with the same ruthless precision she applies to her anxious father's life. She believes there is no problem that cannot be solved with the right introduction, the perfect venue, and a dress that demands attention.

When she discovers Holly Jones, a sweet but socially invisible student, Emily sees a blank canvas. Determined to mould Holly into a woman of status, Emily steers her away from a "boring" local man and towards a dazzling, high-stakes romance.

But life is not a seating plan.

Watching from the sidelines is Ben Armstrong, Emily's childhood friend, her harshest critic, and the only man immune to her carefully constructed façade. He sees the arrogance beneath her benevolence, and he isn't afraid to say so.

When Ben accuses her of treating people like props in a vanity project, Emily doubles down. Desperate to prove him wrong, she throws herself into a glamorous, performative relationship with a wealthy newcomer. But as the wind sweeps across the Ladybower Reservoir and secrets begin to spill like wine on silk, Emily's perfect arrangement threatens to shatter.

Stripped of her audience and her armour, she must face the devastating truth: In trying to write everyone else's happy ending, she may have written herself out of the only love story that matters.