Society of Lies: A Novel

Maya, Naomi’s older sister, went to Princeton 10 years prior. She returns to see Naomi graduate. Around the same time, Princeton Reunions occur, so numerous other Princeton alumni reunite. Maya has a husband, Nate Banks, and a five-year-old daughter, Dani. Maya meets up with Daisy, a fellow alumna. Daisy is also married and has a daughter around Dani’s age. Maya tells her about a fight she had with Naomi: Maya wanted to spend time with Naomi on Friday, but Naomi had to work.

An alert appears on Maya’s phone. The police have closed Washington Road Bridge and Lake Carnegie towpath, areas near Princeton. Maya’s phone dies, so Margaret St. Clare—Naomi’s wealthy legal guardian and the sister-in-law of Maya’s friend Cecily St. Clare—calls Daisy. Daisy tells Maya what Margaret told her: Naomi is dead.

Maya meets Margaret at the police station. Margaret is crying after identifying Naomi’s body. Maya remembers Marget baking Naomi raspberry cake and taking her to the hospital after she chipped a tooth. Maya also remembers holding Naomi after she was born.

Detective Simmons is in charge of Naomi’s case. Simmons says the rowing team called the police around six o’clock. The authorities recovered Naomi’s body shortly after. The initial report indicates drowning. There were alcohol and drugs in Naomi’s body, including ketamine.

Naomi and Liam broke up last spring when his brother suddenly died. Liam began acting in harmful ways. When Naomi told Liam she loved him, Liam walked away. Despite this, last night they had sex. Maya doesn’t think Liam is “good” for Naomi. Now, Naomi is late for dance. She’s a member of the Black Arts Company, and her friend and roommate, Zee (Zalikah), is the choreographer for the dance. Zee is upset Naomi isn’t on time, and she calls out Naomi’s lack of energy. Later, Zee apologizes, and she reminds Noami about the surprise birthday party they’re throwing for their other roommate, Amy.

Outside, Naomi spots Ben Wong. He’s the treasurer of the Sterling Club and a soccer player. She thinks Ben is an attractive “Asian guy.” In the evening, she meets Ben while doing laundry in her building. He’s only wearing banana-print boxers and she’s attracted to him. Ben and Naomi flirt while Naomi ignores texts from Liam. She invites Ben to Amy’s surprise party.

Naomi details her background: Her father died before she was born and then her mother died when she was eight. After her mother’s death, Naomi lived with Aunt Ella in San Jose, California. This wasn’t a very safe or suitable arrangement so Maya arranged for Naomi to live with Margaret and John St. Clare in affluent Greenwich, Connecticut. Both Maya and Naomi are Black Chinese Americans. Margaret is white, and her white friend group makes comments on Naomi’s skin and hair. Margaret silences them when this happens. Naomi disliked private school but enjoyed dance. When she wasn’t dancing, she read, and she believes she read her way into Princeton.

Detective Simmons says ketamine is popular with young adults. She asks Maya if Naomi had any drug or alcohol issues. She also asks if Naomi was demonstrating “isolating behavior.” Simmons’s theory is that Naomi overdosed, perhaps intentionally.

Maya remembers that she warned Naomi to stay away from the eating clubs, but like Maya, Naomi joined Sterling. Maya’s fear for Naomi centered on something that happened in the past: 10 years ago, while Maya was a student, another member of Sterling, Lila, died in mysterious circumstances. She was Maya’s friend, with a “promising future.” Maya never told Naomi about Lila or why the authorities deemed her death “an accident.”

Maya adds to her and Naomi’s family history. Her parents were the only “interracial couple” in her town, and her father was the only Black person. When Maya’s mother was seven months pregnant with Naomi, he died in a car accident. Naomi was born premature. Although their single-parent family wasn’t rich, they were “getting by.” When Maya turned 18, her mother died. This changed everything.

Back on campus for her sophomore year, Maya runs into a girl named Taylor. They know one another, and Taylor says she can get Maya on the list for a party at Cottage—the famous eating club where the 20th-century American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald drank. The bouncer doesn’t let Maya in, and she can’t contact Taylor. She sees Alex Bain in the upstairs window. They went to Sacred Heart (the West Coast prep school) together. To get into Cottage, Maya lets Alex pour champagne into her mouth. He makes her do it again, and this time, he pours beer on her. Crying, Maya runs away from Cottage.

Naomi’s roommate Amy has an internship at The New York Times, and she’s researching an article with a Times reporter. If the editors like it, the newspaper might publish it, giving Amy her first citation. Amy says the article is about water quality in less affluent communities. Tired from working on the article, Amy isn’t in the mood for a party.

The three roommates have different hopes for their futures. Amy is from Beijing and wants to stay in the United States and get a permanent position at the Times. Zee wants to go to Harvard Law. Naomi interned at a hedge fund over the summer, but she doesn’t want to work in finance. Maya interned at a Wall Street bank but left when Cecily offered her a job at the Hunt Gallery in Chelsea, New York City, a neighborhood known for pricey art galleries.

Ben arrives, and he and Naomi discuss the My Neighbor Totoro (1988) sticker on Amy’s laptop. Naomi gave Amy the sticker. Both Ben and Naomi like Studio Ghibli movies.

Maya meets Daisy for coffee, and Daisy offers her support. On Twitter, Maya sees an article about Naomi’s death, and she notices a comment, “When it’s one of us it’s an ‘accident’” (82). The author is @FWPhD, and their account is private.

Outside, Maya runs into Matthew DuPont, her former economics professor and mentor at Sterling Club. Seeing him, Maya feels a range of emotions, including “disgust.” He seems “nervous,” and he expresses his condolences for Maya’s loss.

Matthew DuPont teaches Princeton’s most popular class, behavioral economics. A Princeton alumnus, DuPont has been in Time magazine and given multiple TED Talks. Forbes has named him one of the most successful wealth managers under 40, and Maya thinks he looks like a Michaelangelo sculpture.

After reflecting on her contentious relationship with her mother, Maya returns to the present, where Daisy convinces her to attend Sterling Club’s Gatsby Night. She thinks Maya should “bicker”—participate in the process of joining one of Princeton’s social clubs. The social clubs operate out of mansions, and each mansion is on Prospect Avenue, known as “The Street.” As Daisy is a member of Sterling, Daisy encourages Maya to apply for Sterling, giving her access to a powerful network of people.

Ben reveals that his father had a stroke last year. He promises to go to one of Naomi’s dances; she promises to attend one of his soccer games. She tells him she wants to travel, and she talks about Maya, who didn’t want her to attend Princeton. Naomi finds Princeton confining, and Ben agrees.

Maya is shown around Sterling, which feels like a dream world to her. Maya meets the club’s longtime Ukrainian housekeeper, Marta. Daisy jokingly says Marta knows where “all the bodies are buried” (110). To get accepted, Maya needs a gold card, which Daisy gives her. The other members will then vote on her. To increase Maya’s appeal, Daisy lies that Maya’s grandfather is an affluent investor in China.

Daisy gives Maya Adderall and introduces Maya to Cecily St. Clair. Her family “owns half of Manhattan” (117), and she’s Sterling’s next president. Cecily and Maya bond over their mutual hatred of Alex Bain. Kai Ling, Cecily’s friend, appears. Kai’s parents are investors in China, so she asks Maya about her grandfather. Maya bluffs, telling Kai her grandfather invested in commercial real estate before he died.

Maya meets Cecily, Daisy, and Kai for lunch. Kai is an influential lawyer, Daisy teaches business ethics at NYU, and Cecily runs Hunt Gallery. Cecily married Theodore Hunt, whose investment fund is now facing scrutiny from authorities. Maya brings up Lila, and she shows them @FWPhD’s Twitter reply.

Ben and Naomi bump into Pete Whitney, a member of Sterling and Greystone. Pete almost walks into Naomi, but Ben shoves him out of the way first. Peter directs a racist slur at Ben. Ben details Pete’s past racist behavior to Maya, and Maya thinks of the boys who were racist toward her at school.

At Sterling, Ben and Naomi dance. Liam is there, and Naomi wants to make him jealous, so she kisses Ben. They go to his room, where he shows her his photography. Naomi thinks he could become a professional photographer. Ben comes from a working-class background and his parents want him to be a lawyer or doctor. After Naomi and Ben have sex, he takes her photo.

The next morning, Liam calls Naomi, and they meet in Sterling’s library. Liam admits that he misses playing tennis with Naomi. Then he brings up Theodore Hunt’s firm. Greystone and its members have billions of dollars invested with Hunt but now the funds are under investigation for various financial crimes, like insider trading. A “whistleblower” leaked countless emails to The New York Times, and Hunt’s legal team will interview those who worked there over the summer.

Maya dreams about Lila and reads an article about her sister’s death. The article features a cropped photo, and Maya spots a man’s arm with a Greystone tattoo. At a cafe, Maya meets Zee, who thinks Maya should speak with Liam.

Liam is angrily playing tennis. He claims Naomi’s death wasn’t his fault. Before he met her, she was “fucked up” and beyond help. Maya asks if Naomi was in Greystone with him. Liam says he loved Naomi. He grabs Maya’s wrists. He doesn’t think Maya is a “saint”: He believes she’s “hiding things.”

Due to Greystone’s legal and PR team, the Hunt “scandal” fades. Naomi’s feelings for Liam also diminish. She and Ben are having sex in her room when they hear a noise. Naomi goes to Amy’s room and sees Amy on a video call chatting in “lacy underwear.”

Near Lake Carnegie, Maya remembers moments with Cecily, Kai, Nate, and Lila. She spots Amy, who runs away. Maya catches up to her and mentions Greystone. Amy winces and says Naomi was acting strangely. She seemed on the cusp of a mental health crisis, and she thought someone was following her.

Amy takes Maya to their suite, where Maya notices a suspicious spot on the wall. The police took Naomi’s laptop, and they might have taken her notebook too, but Maya investigates further and finds a mysterious note: “Naomi, I’m sorry about last night. Let me make it up to you.—M” (171).

Naomi attends Ben’s soccer game and cheers him on. Liam is there, and he kisses Naomi while Ben watches from the sidelines. After the game, Naomi meets Jamie, who says she’s “Ben’s girlfriend.” Upset, Naomi drinks tequila in her room before heading toward Lake Carnegie. Liam arrives on his motorcycle and takes Naomi to his dorm. She wants to have sex, but Liam thinks they shouldn’t because Naomi is “drunk.”

Naomi sleeps in Liam’s bed, and he makes her peppermint tea when she wakes up. Liam expresses his scorn for Ben, and Naomi mentions how upset Liam made her when he “disappeared” the previous spring after his brother died.

Daisy prepares Maya for the Sterling “bicker.” They buy expensive clothes and accessories, with Daisy reminding Maya that she can preserve the tags and return them. Maya realizes Daisy doesn’t have an affluent background either and has learned how to pretend.

On an October Saturday, Maya, Daisy, Kai, and Cecily take revenge on Alex. Daisy “hooked up” with the third-string kicker on Princeton’s football team. Daisy then got him to stay home by giving him tickets to a New England Patriots football game (Kai bought the tickets). Daisy took his uniform, which Maya wears. She went to the game and pretended to be the kicker. Locating Alex’s Gatorade bottle, she poured in crushed laxatives. With the score tied in the fourth quarter, Alex fumbled the football and waddled off the field in distress.

Maya speaks to Simmons at the police station. They’ve confirmed that Ben Wong was out of the country, and they’ve talked to Liam’s lawyer. Maya tells her about Greystone and Matthew DuPont’s involvement. There are rumors that DuPont has sexual relationships with students. Simmons maintains that there are no clues suggesting a crime. DuPont’s home security system has revealed that he came home around the same time that Naomi’s phone pinged off a tower in New York City.