We Begin Our Ascent

'A dazzling debut by an exciting and essential new talent' George Saunders, Man Booker Prize winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo



For Sol and Liz, competition is everything. On the road or in the lab, it's all on the line.


As a young professional cyclist in the Tour de France and a geneticist on the brink of a major discovery, success looks within reach for them both - if only they can reach out and grab it.


But everything comes at a cost, whether that's starting a family or doping to keep up with the team, and soon the worlds of drugs, cycling and family will collide, and they will be forced to decide whether the price of accomplishment is something they can afford.


In this powerful, gripping and blackly comic debut, this young couple must ask themselves: what is it we're striving for? And what is it worth?