Three generations of Iranian and Iranian American men confront secrets and difficult truths in a novel that spans eight decades. In 2019, 17-year-old Moud and his father are traveling to Iran to visit Moud’s grandfather, who is dying. He’s overwhelmed to be going “home” for the first time, and to be spending so much time with his father, who barely acknowledges that Moud is queer. Worried about Iran’s treatment of LGBTQ people, Moud scrubs his social media of all evidence of his gayness before leaving, only to be surprised to discover a community of queer people in Iran, many of whom his grandfather knows. In 1978, Moud’s father, Saeed, is a young man forced to leave Iran for participating in protests. In the United States, Saeed is distraught to learn that his parents are both gay and married each other to keep their true identities hidden. In 1939, Bobby—Saeed’s father, Moud’s grandfather—is a child actor in the United States; his controlling mother pushed him into the industry. When he signs a contract with MGM, Bobby—who is gay, closeted, and in love with his best friend—meets queer adults who offer him both hope and, when he’s outed, support. As the three men gather in Iran in 2019, their secrets and pasts are confronted for the first time in a moving novel that delves into not only queerness and homophobia but Iranian history, conflict, and politics. (Age 14 and older)

2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself. 1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country's burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse— he's forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed. 1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he's thrust into has a dark side. Bobby is forced to hide his sexuality for fear of losing everything.Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today.