Fractured by loss, haunted by guilt. Returning home means facing everything she left behind.

After a devastating divorce and career setback, marketing professional Autumn Gardener makes the last move she ever imagined: returning to Ebondale, the Chicago neighborhood she spent years trying to forget.

Back in the place where everything fell apart, Autumn can no longer outrun the ghosts waiting for her. The friend she lost too young. The guilt that’s shaped every choice since. And Amir, her best friend, whose unspoken feelings have simmered beneath the surface of their friendship for far too long.

Healing doesn’t come with a roadmap. It comes in raw conversations with her sister, in the familiar rhythms of her old community, and in finally facing the question she’s been avoiding: What does it mean to be loyal to others when you’ve abandoned yourself?

In Search of Autumn is a deeply moving tale of friends to lovers, second chances, and emotional healing. Perfect for fans of women’s fiction, contemporary romance, and soulful Chicago stories, this novel reminds us that even after heartbreak, love still has the power to rebuild what was broken.