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From the author of We Are Called to Rise comes a novel about the interconnected lives of four women in Las Vegas, each of whom experiences a life-changing moment at a classic casino nightclub.
Spanning the six decades when Las Vegas grew from a dusty gambling town into the melting pot metropolis it is today, ‘Round Midnight is the story of four women—one who falls in love, one who gets lucky, one whose heart is broken, and one who chooses happiness—whose lives change at the Royal Lounge.
June Stein and her husband open the El Capitan casino in the 1950s, and rocket to success after hiring a charismatic black singer to anchor their nightclub, the Royal Lounge. Their fast-paced lifestyle runs aground as racial tensions mount.
Honorata leaves the Philippines as a mail order bride to a Chicago businessman, then hits a jackpot at the Royal Lounge when he takes her on a weekend trip to Las Vegas.
Engracia, an illegal Mexican immigrant whose lucky find at the Royal Lounge leads to heartbreak, becomes enmeshed in Honorata’s secret when she opens her employer’s door to that Chicago businessman—and his gun.
And then there is Coral, an African-American teacher who struggles with her own mysterious past. A favor for Honorata takes her to the Royal Lounge, where she hits a jackpot of another kind.
Mining the rich territory of motherhood and community, ‘Round Midnight is a story about the surprising ways our lives might intertwine. Full of passion, heartbreak, heroism, longing, and suspense, it honors the power of individual acts to unite our increasingly multiethnic, multicultural society.
