It's been five years since Nicholas Fisher had a falling out with his older brother's best friend Matías Romero. The star of their college soccer team, unnaturally optimistic, and handsome as hell, Matías was seemingly perfect. But brooding, grumpy Nicholas learned the truth the hard way, and he's determined never to fall for Matías's tricks again. Now a second-year Ph.D. student and newly rooming with his brother, Nicholas just wants to keep his head down and survive the school year. So it's just his luck that Matías is not only moving to Chicago but also needs to crash on their couch for a while. Despite his best attempts at avoiding Matías, there's only so much he can do when the living room is Matías's temporary bedroom.

His reappearance in Nicholas's life, along with a budding romance with a TA, reopens old wounds and upends everything he thought he knew. Nicholas might finally be able to be happy and live, really live. That is, if he can just stop getting in his own way. A story about academia, siblinghood, and finding joy even when it seems impossible, Sage Greer's debut novel explores the winding, painful, wonderful path toward love and healing.