When New York journalist Natasha Bernstein loses her job and discovers her fiance has been keeping a dark secret, her world collapses. Turning to her family, she takes inspiration from her formidable grandmother Esther, who runs a community centre in downtown Manhattan. As she starts to rebuild her life, Natasha's friendship with Rafi - the enigmatic architect working on Esther's centre - restores her sense of wonder at the world and her faith in who she is. But when Rafi and Natasha take a trip to Jerusalem, they are plunged into a story far deeper than their own. Here, questions of family and loyalty mean more than life itself, and they must ask themselves what they are ultimately prepared to fight for. In a divided world, is it history or love that makes us who we are?
Clemency Burton-Hill is an actress, journalist and broadcaster. She is contributing editor for the Spectator, has written for many UK publications including the Observer, Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail and New Statesman, and appears regularly on arts and current affairs programmes including Question Time, Andrew Marr, and BBC Radios 3,4 and 5. She was a presenter at the BBC Proms and on the series Visionaries, and her recent acting credits include leading roles in Poirot, The Palace, and Party Animals. The Other Side of the Stars is her first novel.