Impostor Syndrome: A Novel

When Julia, a plucky Russian orphan, meets a visitor named Leo, she never imagines he’ll actually return for her. But years later, Leo recruits her for a Russian intelligence agency, sending her to California. The plan is for Julia to rise through the ranks of technology companies, make a name for herself at the top, and then begin feeding information to Leo and the organization. Julia excels, becoming COO of the tech giant Tangerine, acquiring a husband and baby daughter along the way. When she begins finding Leo’s orders too extreme, she realizes she has little ability to refuse. Meanwhile, tech support underling Alice discovers some unusual activity on Tangerine’s servers, and her decision to flag the issue sets dangerous consequences in motion.

Wang creates effective portraits of two very different women at turning points in their lives, and she also pokes fun at Silicon Valley’s culture of excess and the often ridiculous demands made of women in tech. Imposter Syndrome is a timely thriller that also raises questions about how much of our lives we’re truly in command of as well as about how much we’re controlled by the people surrounding us, both visible and behind the scenes, jockeying for influence, credit, and connection.