August 30, 1975: the day fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan is glimpsed fleeing through the woods, never to be heard from again. Thirty-three years later, Marcus Goldman, a successful young novelist, visits Somerset to see his mentor, Harry Quebert, one of the country?s most respected writers.?But Marcus?s plans are upended when Harry is suddenly and sensationally implicated in the murder of Nola Kellergan?whom, he admits, he had an affair with. As the national media convicts Harry, Marcus launches his own investigation. To save Harry, his own writing career, and eventually even himself, Marcus must answer three questions, all of which are mysteriously connected: Who killed Nola Kellergan? What happened one misty morning in Somerset in the summer of 1975? And how do you write a book to save someone?s life?