Fashion, mystery, and politics combine in this delectable, pacey novel set in a big-city museum where an ambitious curator is launching a controversial exhibition of Christian Dior's "New Look."

One of 49th Shelf's Most Anticipated 2025 Spring Fiction

At work, Margaret is the well-regarded curator of fashion for a big city museum. At home, she is the mother of lively, teenaged twin girls, the spouse of a successful mystery writer, and a daughter still grieving the recent death of her beloved father. As she prepares to launch a career-defining exhibition on the haute couture of legendary French designer Dior, she faces fierce internal politics from her peers alongside unsettling questions from a younger generation. To make matters more worrying, items in the Dior collection mysteriously begin to disappear. Meanwhile, Margaret must deal with revelations after her father's death—secrets that force her to confront her family's long-suppressed Jewish heritage. Struggles at work and home entwine in the unlikely figure of an elderly collector of couture—one who may have a long-ago connection to Dior himself.
With her trademark wit, keen observation of human foibles, deep love of textiles and craft, and ear for spicy dialogue, Katherine Ashenburg deftly creates a compelling tale.