The world in this novel is one I grew up around.

My family came from old money—quiet, controlled, never discussed. My grandmother believed wealth should be invisible. People respected her. Some feared her.

Her cousin Lolita was the opposite.
Glamorous. Dramatic. Impossible to ignore.

When I was fifteen, I spent time at her estate in Montecito. One weekend, I met a girl—she was the daughter of one of the gardeners. We talked. That was all.

Lolita saw it.

She pulled me aside and made something very clear:

There are lines you don’t cross.

After that, I never saw the girl again.

That moment stayed with me.

Because in that world, the rules aren’t about morality.
They’re about power.

And they only apply in one direction.

This novel came from that.

— Jeff Nelson

PS: I just added a video where I go into this in detail - please check if you're interested! Or on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxotW...