“A sumptuously written story about culinary ambition, restaurant-world vice, and the frailties of the heart.” — KEVIN CHONG, author of The Double Life of Benson Yu
Restaurateur Teo Wolf’s culinary fame is peaking just as a series of scandals and reckless decisions threaten to destroy everything.

Teo’s life as a Paris brasserie apprentice is filled with challenges and triumphs, as well as all the regular abuses of slammed commercial kitchens. Still, he rises through the ranks, eventually returning to his hometown of Vancouver to open Rue Véron, a French restaurant that goes on to become a sensation. His second restaurant, Orinoco, is also successful. But on the cusp of opening his third, a news story breaks suggesting that his popular sous chef, Frankie, is a sexual predator.

The media firestorm and subsequent public relations disaster threaten to destroy Teo’s empire, as well as his own personal life. And when the compounding consequences lead to unimaginable tragedy, Teo is left to question the impact of both individual action and people acting in great numbers.

A RARE MACHINES BOOK

Timothy Taylor is a bestselling, award-winning novelist and journalist. His debut novel Stanley Park was a finalist for the Giller Prize and the Writers Trust Fiction Prize, and his writing has won or been shortlisted for over twenty magazine awards. He lives in Vancouver with his family and two Brittany spaniels, Keaton and Murphy.

Timothy Taylor's profile page

Praise For Timothy Taylor

"There is something unique and utterly convincing about Taylor's fiction: it's muscular without being overbearing, witty without going for easy laughs." —The Globe and Mail

"[Taylor] has the miniaturist's eye for telling gestures and objects, and a magical ear for cryptic dialogue about ordinary things. . . . His talent glitters on the page. It was said of James Joyce that he could create a character by describing the way he held an umbrella. Taylor has that talent." —Vancouver Sun

"Timothy Taylor [is] a writer to seek and savour." —National Post

A sumptuously written story about culinary ambition, restaurant-world vice, and the frailties of the heart.

KEVIN CHONG, author of The Double Life of Benson Yu