Would you trade nine months of freedom for a better life?
Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines and a struggling single mother, is thrilled to make it through the highly competitive host selection process at Golden Oaks, a luxury retreat where women are paid big money to be surrogate mothers for the uber wealthy. But once she arrives at "The Farm" pregnant, fragile, and cut off from her own daughter, she discovers a different world behind the pristine façade. Along with the other hosts, Jane's existence becomes strictly regimented and meticulously observed--all for the benefit of their unseen clients. Mae Yu, the ambitious entrepreneurial manager at Golden Oaks has high hopes for these girls. And while they've all enlisted in the experiment of "The Farm" with good intentions, nine months can be a long, fraught time...
The intersecting lives of these unforgettable characters play out against the backdrop of the rural Hudson Valley, the lavish homes of the One Percent, and a crowded dormitory in Queens where immigrant service workers rent beds by the day. Ramos reveals the tension between luck and merit in life and illuminates the tradeoffs women make to fortify their futures, and the futures of those they love.
