Nobody's Here

An end-of-life sex worker accused of murdering the man she loved—and a town forced to reckon with what makes a life meaningful

Set amid the lush landscapes and winding waterways of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Nobody’s Here is a haunting and compassionate novel about love, loss, and the value of a life. Flossie Taw works as an end-of-life sex worker, providing live-in care and companionship to men in their final days. Her latest client, Leonidas “Leo” Bane, has kept her by his side longer than anyone before him. Against her own rules, Flossie falls in love.

When Leo is found dead from what may or may not have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Flossie becomes the subject of suspicion in her small Maryland town. As she struggles with an unfamiliar grief, she becomes the subject of intense local speculation as neighbors, friends, police officers, the county coroner, and countless others weigh in on her character, her profession, and her possible role in Leo’s death.

Told through a rich chorus of voices alongside Flossie’s own, Nobody’s Here explores how ordinary people wrestle with life’s biggest questions while navigating the demands of everyday life. As the residents of Canterbury, Maryland, debate Flossie’s culpability, they are also forced to consider what makes a life meaningful and what we owe one another at the end of it. Nobody’s Here asks readers to look beyond appearances and decide for themselves whether Flossie Taw is responsible for Leo’s death, or whether she was responsible for giving his life meaning.