Donald believes he knows all there is to know about seeing. An optometrist in suburban Boston, he is sure that he and his wife Viv, who runs the local stables, are both devoted to their two children, and to each other. Then Mercury—a gorgeous young thoroughbred with a murky past—arrives at Windy Hill and everything changes. Hilary, a newcomer to town, has inherited Mercury from her brother after his mysterious death. When she first brings Mercury to board at Windy Hill everyone is struck by his beauty and prowess, particularly Viv. As she rides him, Viv begins to dream of competing again, embracing the ambitions that she harbored before she settled for a career in finance. Her daydreams soon morph into consuming desire, and her infatuation with the thoroughbred escalates to obsession. Donald may have 20:20 vision, but he is slow to notice how profoundly Viv has changed and how these changes threaten their quiet, secure world. By the time he does it is too late to stop the catastrophic collision of Viv’s ambitions and his own myopia. Mercury is a riveting tour de force that showcases this “searingly intelligent writer at the height of her powers.” (Jennifer Egan).