Griffin Newman

"The Candy House opens with the staggeringly brilliant Bix Bouton, whose company, Mandala, is so successful that he is "one of those tech demi-gods with whom we're all on a first name basis." Bix is 40, with four kids, restless, desperate for a new idea, when he stumbles into a conversation group, mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or "externalizing" memory. It's 2010. Within a decade, Bix's new technology, "Own...

Vivien and Chloe have just inherited their Aunt Isabelle's bakery, a boulangerie that has been a cornerstone of the neighborhood for years. Chloe wants a new image and product, while Vivien wants to make sure nothing changes. Their clash of ideas leads to a peculiar solution: they split the shop in half with a black line in the middle and each runs her business as she sees fit. Things heat up as they're forced to fight over every customer who walks...