'When he looked back, he felt that the death of the Ukrainian was the point at which things began to fall apart.'' Amid the fading glory of the Imperial Hotel, embattled Executive Chef Gabriel Lightfoot tries to maintain his culinary integrity in the hotel’s restaurant, while managing an unruly but talented group of immigrant cooks. He must please the management of the hotel, recently purchased by an international conglomerate. When the dead body of a Ukrainian porter is discovered in the restaurant cellar, the tenuous balance in Gabe’s life begins to slip. Adding to his stress, Gabe’s plan to open his own restaurant with two wealthy investors is hitting a critical stage, his father is diagnosed with cancer, and his girlfriend starts talking about a new level in their relationship. Meanwhile, Gabe convinces himself that Gleeson, the restaurant’s shifty floor manager, is using hotel property to conduct some sort of nefarious business. With all this on his mind, Gabe encounters a young immigrant named Lena, a girl mysteriously tied to the death of the porter, and he makes a decision, the consequences of which irrevocably change the course of the life he knows—and the future he thought he wanted. As she did in Brick Lane, Monica Ali once again brings readers into a rich and fascinating London subculture. She paints a vivid portrait of the immigrant workers who staff London’s restaurants and hotels—the personal hopes, histories, and secrets they must conceal as they cook the food and make the beds for London’s elite. This is Upsairs, Downstairs for a new generation. With a thrilling plot and imbued with the author’s keen perspective on the social changes that have swept Britain in recent years, In the Kitchen is a brilliant and riveting work from one of our most acclaimed young writers.