One is meek. The other brash. Can two broken souls find a place they belong?

San Francisco, 2007. Laurie Lamont craves security. Having survived an abusive father and snared a job as admin for a Silicon Valley startup, the twenty-something stays focused on the three H’s – home, husband, and healthcare. But when she discovers her would-be spouse is secretly in love with another man, Laurie fears her dreams are destined to crumble.

Malini “Mal” Kumar is unapologetically herself. Loud, outspoken, and direct, the bold Indian woman flees her controlling family and their plan to force her into an arranged marriage. Facing a tough real estate market, the fiercely independent woman accepts a roommate offer from a female techie she barely knows.

Thrown by unfamiliar feelings, Laurie falls for Mal’s extraordinary strength, while Mal finds herself captivated by Laurie’s loving kindness. With social forces conspiring against them, can these emotional opposites find their forever?

Returning to the boom-and-bust era of turn-of-the-21st-century California, author Anat Deracine delivers a thought-provoking tale of unanticipated love. With gorgeous, lyrical prose, she explores the beauty and terror of sapphic awakening at a time when same-sex marriage was illegal and women were afterthoughts in the toxic tech-bro-dominated world of the emerging online economy. Her Golden Coast is an uplifting work of LGBTQ+ historical fiction. If you like strong queer characters, well-crafted turns of phrase, and deep themes of liberation, then you’ll adore Anat Deracine’s story of unexpected opportunity.