Long after they’re gone, childhood friendships can define and destroy us—or be the one thing that saves us.

In a small Swedish coastal town in 1986, 12-year-old Elliot dreams of being a video game designer. When he meets Calvin, a stuttering outcast with a knack for drawing, the two make a pact to create the greatest game ever made. Together with neighborhood friends Lisa and Skye, they gather their ideas in a folder, but external influences pull at the strings of their tight knit group.

More than twenty years later, Elliot is a pariah, his status as a highly sought-after designer in the games industry squandered after he sabotages his own studio. But his biggest regret is his estrangement from Calvin—whose tragic passing means that any chance of repair is now gone. But when Elliot receives Calvin’s old folder with their unfinished project, the past unravels before him. He sets out to honor his late friend’s dying wish, gathering the studio back together to build the game of their dreams—while slowly picking up the pieces of his life.

Celebrated Swedish novelist Andreas Roman’s English language debut is a deeply affecting redemption story that explores why we hurt the people we love, and how to come back from it.