Venus Johnston has a great job, a beautiful home, and a loving live-in boyfriend named Clint, who happens to be a drop-dead gorgeous doctor. She also has a weekly beauty-parlor date with Tina, who keeps her long, processed hair slick and straight. Ever since childhood, the tedious hours in the salon and harsh, burning chemicals have grated on Venus, and increasingly, she dreams of cutting off her beautiful “good” hair. When her boyfriend keeps balking at commitment, and the thought of another hour at the salon is just too much, Venus decides to give it up—all of it. She trades in the long hair for a dramatically short, natural cut, and sends Clint packing. It’s a bold declaration of independence, and one that has effects she never could have imagined. With wit, resilience, and a lot of determination, Venus finally learns what true happiness is...on her own terms. It’s a delicious story told with savvy and humor—a novel that marks the debut of a fresh new voice in fiction.