Alison Pace

For Hope McNeill, pugs are love, happiness, freedom-and everything else she finds lacking in her own life. With no time or apartment space for a pug of her own, Pug Hill in Central Park is her one refuge from her mismatched boyfriend, her hopeless coworker crush, and the biggest crisis of all-a speech for her parents' fortieth wedding anniversary that will require her to overcome her huge fear of public speaking.

Hope NcNeill has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for years, but this is the first time she's been able to bring along her pug, Max. (Officially, at least. Up until now she's had to smuggle him in insider her tote bag.) The occasion: a special "Pug Night" party in honor of a deep-pocketed donor. Max and his friends are having a ball stalking the hors d'oeuvres and getting rambunctious- making Hope wonder if this is also the last time she gets...