A woman looking for her father, an anonymous sperm donor, believes she's found him in a disgraced anesthesiologist who denies paternity but with whom she becomes increasingly entangled.

Sylvia is the daughter of two loving mothers, but she has always wanted to know her father. When she moves back to New York City, a dossier arrives from her moms, with a new lead: Dean, an anesthesiologist who may bear some responsibility in the death of a pop star. At the same time, Sylvia meets Molly, a woman with her own family mysteries, with whom she makes a deal: they will help each other in the search for each other's biological families. These three are drawn into a series of narrative games, games that leave Sylvia and Molly reeling and faced with a choice about the kinds of stories in which they are willing to participate. With the propulsive prose and psychological intensity of Patricia Highsmith, Veltfort probes questions of inheritance and intimacy, the allure of obsession, and misunderstandings that shape our lives.