In Literacy and Longing in L.A., hailed as the most delightful read of the year by Liz Smith in the New York Post, authors Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack captivated readers with a brilliantly imagined first novel. Now Kaufman and Mack return, introducing a character with a unique voice youll never forget: Cassie Shaw, an irrepressible young woman who reinvents herselfwith unexpected consequencesin a funny, wise, and utterly original novel about friendship, love, wildlife, and other forces of nature.In the wilds of Topanga Canyon, Cassie is right at homewith the call of birds, the sound of wind in the trees, the harmony of a world without people. But everywhere else, life is a little harder for Cassie. Her mother believes in Big Foot. Her wisecracking pet parrot is a drama queen. And at the age of thirty, newly single and without a college degree, Cassie desperately needs a decent paycheck. Which is why, against all her principles, she lies on her rsum for an office job at an elite universityand then finds herself employed in academia by two professors who are as rare as the birds she covets.One of her new bosses is Professor William Conner, a sexy, handsome, cheerfully aristocratic expert in animal behavior. Soon, under Conners charismatic tutelage, Cassie carefully begins her personal transformation while meeting the kind of people who dont flock to wildlife preservesfrom impossibly brilliant academics to adorably spoiled college boys. But her futureand unlikely new careeris teetering on one unbearable untruth. And Cassies masquerade is about to come undonein a chain of events that will transform her lifeand the lives of those around herforever.A novel for late bloomers of every exotic shade and stripe, A Version of the Truth is pure entertainmentat once hilarious and wry, lyrical and uplifting.From the Hardcover edition.