Trust and Safety

By: Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman

A wry yet tender-hearted novel about a newly-wed straight couple who attempt to buy their way into a “wild and precious” existence in the Hudson Valley, where they encounter—and quickly become entangled with—a queer couple living the dream analog life.

        Newly married Rosie has grown disenchanted with NYC. Inspired by design influencers on Instagram, she starts thirsting for a rural life in the Catskills—one full of beauty and authenticity. She just needs to convince her successful tech-bro husband, Jordan, of her vision for their future. After all, he’d be funding the move, thanks to his early employment at a successful smart-tech company. Willing to do anything for her happiness, Jordan signs on, and—after a whirlwind auction—they land a beautiful, yet dilapidated, country home. 

        But when Jordan suddenly loses his job, the couple is forced to rent out the property’s outbuilding. Unfortunately, there’s no hot water, the paint is peeling, the fireplace doesn’t work, plus that mold problem...

        Enter Dylan and Lark: an incredibly attractive lesbian couple who also happen to be handy and living the perfect, analog life (think: fresh berries, a hand-built chicken coop, hand-dyed linens). When they move into the outhouse, Rosie grows increasingly fixated on them, especially on Dylan, while Jordan grows increasingly desperate. But are Dylan’s intentions as pure as they look? 

        Whip-smart and wickedly funny, TRUST & SAFETY examines questions of authenticity, betrayal, paternity, and entitlement, while poking fun at contemporary fear of the “gay agenda.”