Something New

by Alex Sarkis

It was during July of 2019 when I finally decided to leave Sydney. My friend Yasmine – a successful and relatively famous fashion designer – had been insisting for a while that I join her overseas. The plan was simple: a direct flight to Dubai where we’d spend about a fortnight managing her newest boutique and broadening my photography portfolio. But then, a day before I was due to return to home, as the two of us were sitting on her balcony watching the glittering lights of the Burj Khalifa, Yasmine suggested I move with her to London. ‘Sydney will always be waiting,’ she said. ‘All that baggage that you left behind. But we’ll only be this young and this free once.’

After a series of tragic events, Nicole leaves Sydney and her tight-knit immigrant family to build a new life for herself in London. Two years later though, when her visa is almost up, she heads back to her hometown, where everything is the same – but things are different.

Loved-up with a happy-go-lucky football coach and still planning on returning to London, Nicole reconnects with family, friends and more – and finds herself longing for what she once had.

Torn between continents and loyalties, Nicole has to decide what she truly wants for herself – a decision that will affect the rest of her life.

Home is where the heart is … but what if your heart is torn in two​?

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2026