Firefly Lane: A Novel

In the summer of 1974, eighth-grader Kate Mularkey befriends Tully Hart, a glamorous new neighbor who seems to have everything. Despite their differences—Kate from a loving but embarrassing family, Tully harboring a destructive secret—they form an inseparable bond and make a pact of lifelong friendship. Spanning three decades across the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane follows Tully and Kate as their lives diverge. Tully, abandoned by her mother, pursues fame and success in television news, traveling to New York and around the globe but finding loneliness alongside achievement. Kate seeks an ordinary life—marriage, children, family—and gradually loses sight of her former self while envying her famous best friend's accomplishments. For thirty years, the two women support each other through life's challenges, navigating jealousy, anger, hurt, and resentment. A single act of betrayal ultimately tears them apart, testing the limits of their friendship and courage. The novel explores promises, secrets, and the complex bonds between women shaped by the choices and opportunities of their generation.