Skin Contact

Unmoored by her mother''s sudden death, Frances has never felt so diminished, or so old. She''s painfully aware that strangers no longer look at her the same way - and that she''s now, at thirty-two, older than the great aunt for whom she was named, who was killed in the seventies under mysterious circumstances involving an extramarital affair. Her husband, Ben, will do anything to help Frances regain her vivacity and sense of purpose. So when Frances suggests that they open their marriage, Ben complies. Over the next two years, they explore their sexualities and latent kinks; they navigate jealousy, betrayal, desire, and obsession; they defend their choices - and their new identities - to confused friends. They do all of this together, as a team. But when Ben finds himself falling in love with another woman, just as Frances realizes she''s ready to settle down and have a baby, they are forced to confront the consequences of their experiment.

About the author

Elisa Faison is a freelance editor living in Carrboro, North Carolina with her partner and two-year-old twins. She has published stories in The Missouri Review, Electric Literature, Smokelong Quarterly, and more. Her story 'Motherlove' was the recipient of the 2024 Peden Prize, awarded by The Missouri Review and judged by Rachel Yoder. Formerly, Elisa worked as a bookseller at Flyleaf Books and the book reviews editor at The Carolina Quarterly. She holds a PhD in English from UNC Chapel Hill.

Product details

• Authors: Elisa Faison
• Publisher: Sceptre
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 09.06.2026
• EAN: 9781399748605
• ISBN: 978-1-399-74860-5
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 134 mm x 216 mm x 24 mm
• Subjects: Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), FICTION / Literary, FICTION / Friendship, FICTION / City Life, Short Stories, FICTION / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce, Of specific Gay & Lesbian interest, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Relating to LGBTQ+ people, FICTION / LGBTQ+ / General, c 2020 to c 2029, FICTION / World Literature / American / 21st Century, FICTION / Romance / Polyamory, Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary