The Summer We Ran: A Novel

The Summer We Ran follows Tess Murphy and Grant Alexander across two timelines. In the summer of 1996, Tess's mother takes a job as a cook at an affluent Virginia estate and instructs her daughter to stay quiet and avoid trouble. Tess, however, falls deeply in love with Grant Alexander, the boy next door from a high-society family. Their romance intensifies over several months until tragedy intervenes. More than two decades later, both Tess and Grant are running for governor of Virginia. Secrets from that summer resurface, threatening to damage their families, their political ambitions, and the memory of their formative first love. Told through multiple perspectives and dual timelines, the novel explores themes of lost love, hidden secrets, sabotage, and the difficult choices two people must make to pursue their desired futures.