The Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of Little Big Man returns with perhaps one of his most imaginative alternate realities yet: a matriarchal society. Women reign supreme in the not-so-distant future, where Georgie Cornell has no choice but to wear the high heel shoe on the other foot. Swept into the chaotic world of publishing, he is at the mercy of his female bosses, especially if his pencil skirt is an inch too short. Georgie only has one male coworker he can lean on for a bit of support, and his friend Charlie''s fascination with gender roles borders on the scandalous for Georgie''s taste. Still, when Georgie loses his job it''s Charlie he turns to for comfort. Spilling a drink on his expensive dress, he has no choice but to wear the women''s clothes Charlie keeps in secret on the way home. The simple journey quickly turns chaotic when Georgie is taken in by the police for the crime of being a transvestite. A prison escape is only the start of this piercing, insightful, and prescient look at gender norms. "Imagined with such ferocity and glee that we assent to it almost in spite of ourselves . . . A brilliant accomplishment by one of our best novelists." —The New York Times Book Review
