Dakota James thought he knew where his life was headed.

Once a hopeful debut novelist, he now finds himself stuck in the background of the industry he once dreamed of conquering. After his publishing imprint dissolves, he moves to Seattle, starting fresh as an editorial assistant at a new publishing house—the very same one that published the works of his literary idol, the late Francis Kahan.

It’s also where he meets Oliver Kahan—Francis’s son and a rising star in the literary world. Oliver is charming and magnetic and carries the weight of his father’s legacy with a quiet intensity that Dakota can’t quite decipher. A work happy hour turns into stolen glances, late-night confessions, and a connection that feels both exhilarating and dangerous. But love in the literary world is never simple.

Deadlines are slipping, expectations are mounting, and the pressure to live up to his father’s name is suffocating Oliver. Dakota has spent years navigating the publishing industry’s ruthless expectations—he knows what it means to feel like an imposter, to want something so badly it consumes you. Against his better judgment, he steps in, offering Oliver the support he won’t ask for. What begins as an unexpected romance soon becomes a tangled web of ambition, devotion, and secrets neither of them is ready to face.

Yet, in publishing, perception is everything, and when professional ambition collides with personal demons, the fragile bond between them begins to crack. Dakota is about to uncover a truth that could rewrite everything he thought he knew about Oliver. And when the lies they’ve told themselves begin to unravel, they’ll have to decide—are they destined to be each other’s greatest mistake, or can they find a way to rewrite their story before it’s too late?