A wonderful, warm novel from a major American voice.'It's left a little hole in my life the way a really good book will' Jonathan FranzenA small American college. Five very different lives. One terrible mistake.At Westish College, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for the big league until a routine throw goes disastrously off course. His error will upend the fates of five people. Henry's burgeoning self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight falls unexpectedly and helplessly in love.

Owen Dunne becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight returns to Westish, determined to start a new life.As the season counts down to its climactic final game, all five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets.'The best debut novel I've read this year - assured, funny, poignant and deeply satisfying' Evening Standard.