David Nicholls trained as an actor before making the switch to writing. He is the author of two previous novels—Starter For Ten and The Understudy. He has also written many screenplays for film and television, including the feature film adaptation of Starter For Ten and One Day. He lives in London.

Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, casual acquaintances during their university years, spend graduation night together. It’s July 15, 1988, and their futures are up in the air. Dexter, the handsome, confident son of a well-to-do family, knows only that he wants “to be successful. . . . to live life to the extreme, but without any mess or complications” [p. 9]. Emma is determined to stay true to her left-leaning passions and ideals though she has little idea of how she’ll do it. They part the next day with vague promises to keep in touch as Dexter sets off to travel the world and Emma returns to her working-class family in Leeds to figure out what she’ll do next. Over the next twenty years, they’ll think about each other, sometimes to meet and reignite a relationship that neither can give up nor explain. One Day revisits Dexter and Emma every year on the anniversary of their first night together. Each July 15th becomes a snapshot of a particular time and place, offering an irresistible and often hilarious chronicle of the lovers they acquire, the careers they pursue, the culture that influences them, and the opportunities they embrace or squander. As their stories unfold, David Nicholls brilliantly explores the interplay of character and fate that shape our lives. Emma Morley和Dexter Mayhew在大學中偶然相識，共同度過瞭他們的畢業之夜。那是1988年7月15日，兩人的未來都懸而未決。Dexter這個來自於富裕傢庭的自信、英俊的男孩，隻知道他未來的夢想是“想要成功…過刺激的生活、但不要有混亂和麯摺。”Emma決定麵對自己左傾的熱情和夢想，但她也不知道該做些什麼。第二天他們分開，Dexter去環遊世界、Emma返迴自己在英國利茲的工薪階層傢庭思考未來做些什麼，在分彆前二人模糊地約定保持聯絡。在接下來的20年中，兩人掛念著彼此，有時見麵重燃這種既不能割捨又難以解釋的關係。 《一天》記錄瞭Dexter和Emma兩人在20年的跨度之中是如何度過7月15日——他們的紀念日——這一天的。每年的7月15日就像一個特定時空的快照，為我們展示瞭他們的戀人、事業、周邊環境、獲得或者是浪費掉的機會的編年史，使觀眾被深深吸引、經常忍俊不禁。隨著他們故事的展開，我們看到瞭性格和命運會如何塑造我們的生活。