Andrea Uptmor

Months after the housing bubble bursts in 2008, newlyweds Emma and Rachel move into a charming house in a conservative college town, hoping for a fresh start after a painful miscarriage.As Rachel immerses herself in her new role as a professor and bestselling novelist, Emma struggles in the shadow of her wife''s success. The house soon becomes a refuge, until strange occurrences make Emma question whether she and her wife are truly alone.They aren''t.Charlotte and Dirk, the former homeowners whose lives were upended by foreclosure, are secretly living in the attic. Dispossessed by the recession and anxious about her husband''s declining health, Charlotte clings to the hope that her estranged son will return to the home they lost.As she waits, she listens to the new occupants below, her resentment growing as she witnesses the life she once had slipping further away. Determined to reclaim her home, Charlotte climbs down from the attic at intervals to sabotage the interlopers.But when her campaign to drive out the couple goes too far, Charlotte''s and Emma''s stories converge in an explosive climax, revealing the lengths people will go to, to reclaim what they''ve lost.

A newly married couple move into a flipped foreclosure, unaware that the former homeowners are still living in the attic. A striking and intimate debut about motherhood, loss and the true cost of starting over. After the housing crash in 2008, Emma and Rachel move into a charming little house in a conservative college town, hoping for a fresh start after a painful miscarriage. Emma finds herself struggling in the shadow of her wife's success: tenure-track professor and now bestselling novelist. Desperate to build something of her own, and without Rachel's knowledge, Emma pursues IVF. The house becomes a refuge from the town Emma is convinced is set against her - until strange occurrences make her question whether she and Rachel are truly alone. They aren't. Charlotte and Dirk, the former homeowners displaced by the recession, are secretly living above Emma and Rachel's attached garage. As Charlotte listens to the interlopers below, her growing resentment pushes her into small acts of defiance, eventually full-blown sabotage. But when her campaign to drive out the couple goes too far, Charlotte's and Emma's stories converge in an explosive climax that will reveal the lengths people will go to reclaim what they've lost.