Warren Adler's The War of the Roses leaped into the public consciousness and has since remained an essential thread in a wider tapestry of divorce iconography. Now Adler presents us with the chandelier-shattering legacy of Barbara and Jonathan Rose relived in their children, Josh and Evie, in a hilarious sequel to the original iconic tale about the perils of marriage, divorce, and the destructive power of materialism.

Unlike the legendary Roses, Josh's marriage to Victoria should have all the qualities of an everlasting union. But when an innocent caper involving missing Milky Ways catapults out of control at their son's elite private school, they find themselves entering into a shattering warfare of a different kind. Armed with the emotional mayhem inherited from their parents as well as compounded pressures involving a depraved headmaster, clandestine affairs, and Victoria's male-hating mother, The Children of the Roses presents a gripping story of the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children.

Little more than a child herself, Josh's ever-sympathetic and overstuffed sister, Evie, lavishes her "food is love" obsession on her beloved niece and nephew, who are coping with their own sense of loss. Meanwhile, Michael and Emily, soon-to-be children of divorce, orchestrate their own plan to keep their family together at all costs.

Adler once again demonstrates his storytelling mastery by revealing the intricate blending of the past with the present and how time unravels all seemingly perfect things to be darkly and even comically dysfunctional.