"It's the summer before Nina's senior year in high school and she needs to get away. She escapes from her family and small town, and enrolls in an acting course in Cape Cod. There, she meets Sarah, a teaching assistant with the theatre program, who captures her heart. Nina knows they are destined to be "coupled and inseparable," as Shakespeare describes the faithful swans of Juno. Bright and independent, Nina has long yearned for a deeper emotional connection with someone, and this seems to be the chance for the love she has always craved. Yet as her own world revolves around Sarah, the heady summer moves urgently onwards. A vivid cast of characters wheels past; her best friend feels abandoned; and the Reagan years bring their own uncertainties, as post-Stonewall New York opens up and the AIDS epidemic rages. As Nina comes to understand the nature of love and loss, she sees the people in her life anew, and at last, she finds her way home. With lyrical prose and an evocative narrative voice, Tamsen Wolff brings to life the dizzying experience of first love--and its partner, first heartbreak. The novel masterfully appraises love, desire, and disappointment with a clear and beautiful eye"--Page [2] of cover.