Romeo And His Mistress

For twelve years, Billie Hark has been the invisible spine of the Tern Harbor Playhouse.

She writes the cues, tapes the marks, and keeps the show running while her husband, Ruben, basks in the spotlight. She has built a life around his rehearsal schedule, carving out a home in the margins of his ego. But when Billie discovers her pristine prompt book filled with unauthorized changes, and realizes Ruben is maneuvering to claim her adaptation of the season’s play as his own, she stops being the ghost in the machine.

Ruben thinks he’s the star. He thinks the theater, the play, and the legacy belong to him. He’s about to find out that in any production, the person who holds the prompt book holds all the power.

In a world where the lines are blurred and the curtains hide everything, Billie is about to execute the one cue Ruben will never see coming.