This is not a story about grandeur. It is not a story about Fifth Avenue penthouses, wrap-around terraces, or ten gleaming professional-grade grills that no one in their right mind knew how to operate. Well—it is all those things. But first and foremost, this is a story about what happens when two perfectly sensible people buy the most magnificent apartment in New York… and promptly lose their way.

It is, in the truest sense, based on a very real, very true sequence of events—events that actually happened, to actual people, in an apartment that actually exists (and still swallows visitors whole to this day). Every wrong turn, every bewildered stare at a wall of unlabelled switches, every moment standing in a kitchen large enough to host a banquet while wondering where on earth they’d put the kettle… all of it really happened.

Neal Sainsbury and Sophie Rothschild were not, by any measure, extravagant people. They were careful. They were practical. They had spent twelve years together mastering the art of living comfortably in spaces that made sense—flats where you could reach the fridge without stepping into the bath, where the bedroom was clearly visible from the hallway, where a “home appliance” meant a kettle that plugged into a wall and did exactly what it said on the box. They saved diligently. They planned meticulously. And when at last they walked into that penthouse—with its swimming pool, its private cinema, its cedar sauna, its two guest suites masquerading as “staff quarters,” and that legendary kitchen—they thought they had found their dream.

They were half-right.

What they hadn’t bargained for was the apartment’s other superpower: hiding ordinary, everyday homes so thoroughly beneath marble, mahogany, and state-of-the-art automation that they simply couldn’t find it anymore. They had bought every luxury money could buy. What they hadn’t been told was that warmth, familiarity, and that quiet feeling of belonging—those you can’t order from a brochure. Those you have to hunt down, room by endless room, while trying not to get lost in your own corridor.

This is the comedy of what happens when you outgrow your own expectations. It is the chronicle of two people who set out to settle down and ended up exploring. Who bought ten ovens and learned to cook on one. Who stood on a terrace overlooking all of Manhattan and realised the most spectacular view in the world means nothing unless you know which way is home.

Every mishap you are about to read really did occur. Every wrong turn, every phantom voice from a motion-activated speaker, every evening spent wandering corridors with a map and a flashlight—all true. The names have been changed to protect the embarrassed. The number of grills has not.

Read on, then, and laugh along. Because the truth is this: you can buy the finest address on Fifth Avenue. You can have the best view in New York. But home? Home is the one thing you can’t buy. Sometimes—when you have everything else—it’s also the one thing you have to go looking for.

And sometimes… It's hiding behind the main gas valve.

"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

PBShop.store UK

Fairford, GLOS, United Kingdom

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since June 11, 1999

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Item	10 to 20 business days	10 to 20 business days
First item	£ 4.16	£ 4.16

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.

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Store description

**Please note our transit times are from the date of dispatch.** We first started out as “The Paperback Exchange,” a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become “PBShop.” This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first purchase with us, or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.…

Specialty

Hardbacks, Paperbacks

Seller's business information

Pbshop.co.uk

Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road
Fairford, United Kingdom GL7 4BX

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Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.
Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.
Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
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If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

Information regarding the right of withdrawal

Statutory right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to PBShop.store UK, Fairford, United Kingdom, +44 1285 712917, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal does not apply to:

The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.

Shipping terms

Orders are shipped from our UK warehouse. Delivery thereafter is between 4 and 14 business days. Please contact us if you have any queries about our services or products.

My Home is Missing

Item description from seller

Bibliographic details

Synopsis