The Moment Before Waking

In the patriarchal world of 1959, 25-year-old Rose Conway has two simple jobs: keep her demanding husband Walt's life in order and bear his children. Unfortunately, she’s failing at both. 

When she awakens from an exhilarating dream of ancient Egypt—and she’s still wearing the warrior queen’s gold bracelet—she knows this was no ordinary dream.

The mystery of the bracelet sets Rose on a quest that quickly takes her beyond every familiar touchstone. From the swanky Waldorf Astoria hotel to a guru in Greenwich Village, Rose’s journey bypasses the happily-ever-after she’s pursued her entire life. And her new path to fulfillment turns the sexist conventions of the 1950s on their head.

Each step she takes inflames her husband’s temper, and Rose must escape before his violence turns deadly.