Almost Perfect — Alice Adams

At the time Stella Blake meets Richard Fallon, she is nearly broke. Her semi-famous father, who has always neglected her, is dying. Her job at a San Francisco newspaper is only tentative. Richard, on the other hand, is wildly successful as a commercial artist, even if both his marriages to bosomy blondes have failed. Of course, he immediately notes that Stella is not his type, being small, dark, and exotic-looking. For her part, Stella thinks Richard is far too sure of himself, and vain. Naturally they fall in love.

Theirs is an almost perfect relationship -- except for the violent fights followed by passionate reconciliations. And there is Stella's suddenly ascending career...and a shimmering San Francisco whose dark side is AIDS.Something is terribly amiss with this golden couple, something one of them is only beginning to suspect. In "Almost Perfect," Alice Adams creates her most searing account of modern relationships when illusions crack, secrets seep out, and women face the consequences of falling madly in love.