The Red Dress

The price of service to wealth and power is exposed when a father's limits are tested on an ultrarich family's remote island

Nick, in the wake of a failed marriage, settles for the relative ease of a well-paid job captaining a luxury yacht, but it leaves little time for his seven-year-old daughter Natalie. In a stroke of good fortune, he is offered a mysterious yet lucrative opportunity that allows Natalie to tag along, and they are soon flying across the globe in a private jet. The workload proves light and they are encouraged to enjoy the sun, surf, and island amenities--but they must wear customized digital glasses that shield the identities of his employers. When Natalie is invited to play with their children and her treasured red dress disappears, Nick discovers that everything is not as it seems, and what began as a grand adventure warps into an unsettling mirage.

An exploration of extreme privilege, global inequality, and the power of emerging technology, The Red Dress is also an eloquent story about our search for connection that raises essential questions about what we owe to ourselves and those we love.

Frank Huyler is the author of three novels, including The Red Dress, and two books about his work as an emergency physician: The Blood of Strangers, considered a classic of medical writing, and White Hot Light, a finalist for the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. His books have been widely translated, and his poems, essays, and opinion pieces have appeared in many publications, including the Atlantic, American Scholar, Guardian, New York Daily News, Vice, and Washington Post. Huyler practices medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico.