Meet Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo. Or, for short, Eddie: an aspiring playwright who dreams of making it big in London’s theatre world. But after repeated rejections from white talent agents, Eddie suspects her non-white sounding name might be the problem . . .
Enter Hugo Lawrence Smith: good looking, well-connected, charismatic and . . . white. Very white. Stifled by his law degree and looking for a way out of the corporate world, he finds a kindred spirit in Eddie after a chance encounter at a cafe.
Together they hatch an extraordinary scheme, one which will see Eddie’s play on stage and Hugo’s name in lights. Her script sent out under his name. Their plan: keep the play’s origins a secret until it reaches critical levels of success. Then expose the theatre world for its racism and hollow clout-chasing.
Caught in a lie that simply snowballs, the unlikely pair of friends begin a farcical, yet fraught odyssey, one full of romantic and platonic fumbles. But as their plan spins wildly out of control, Eddie and Hugo find themselves wondering if their friendship, and their reputations, can survive . . .
WARONA JAY was born in Botswana and raised in England, where she studied Law at the University of Kent and King’s College London before switching to a Creative Writing PhD at Brunel. She was shortlisted for the Sony Young Movellist of the Year Award judged by Malorie Blackman, longlisted for Penguin Random House’s 2020 WriteNow Scheme, and was the winner of the International Watty Awards in 2018 and 2019. She currently works as a legal research analyst. The Grand Scheme of Things is her debut novel.
