'Nostalgic and tender as a bruise.' - Jacqueline Bublitz, Before You Knew My Name

Becky thought she'd left Zoe and that summer far behind.

Set in 1995 against the backdrop of Auckland's burgeoning party scene, Golden Days is the story of an intense late-teens friendship between bookish Becky Chalke and star-dusted Zoe Golden, and what happens after one terrifying night changes their lives and destroys their friendship forever.

After finding out that her husband has been cheating on her, Becky is mourning the end of her picture-perfect marriage at the bottom of a bottle. The trauma of the break-up brings back harrowing memories of a summer she thought she'd left far behind. But with Zoe's reappearance, Becky is forced to reconsider her interpretation of events, as well as where blame lies, her true nature and her place in the world.

Music, clubs, art, collaboration, spirituality, sex - Golden Days is a thrilling and nostalgic ride into the past, where nothing is as it seemed.

Caroline Barron (Te Uri o Hau, Pākehā) is an award-winning author, manuscript assessor and book coach, book reviewer and writing teacher. Her memoir Ripiro Beach won the New Zealand Heritage Literary Award for Best Non-fiction Book in 2020. She holds a Master's in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland plus a journalism degree and, in a previous life, owned and ran Nova – a leading model and talent agency. Caroline resides between Auckland and Northland's Ripiro (Baylys) Beach, with her husband and two young daughters. Golden Days is her first work of fiction.