Lies and Weddings

Written by Kevin Kwan, Lies and Weddings (2024) is a romantic comedy that follows Eden Tong as she navigates the complex interactions of the ultra-rich, aristocratic Greshams and develops a romance with her lifelong friend, Rufus Gresham.

The novel incorporates themes similar to those that Kwan has explored in his other novels, including the trilogy that began with Crazy Rich Asians (2013) and his previous standalone novel, Sex and Vanity (2020). These themes include the complexities of Asian American or Anglo Asian identity, as well as issues of class, snobbery, and luxury in a world marred by inequality. Kwan’s previous novels have been bestsellers, and Crazy Rich Asians was adapted into a successful film in 2018.

This guide refers to the 2024 Doubleday e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of racism, pregnancy loss or termination, illness and death, substance use, sexual content, and addiction.

Plot Summary

Eden Tong is a British woman of Chinese descent who lives with her father, Thomas Tong, in a small English village near the historic and beautiful estate of Greshamsbury. Both Eden and her father work as physicians and are close with the wealthy Gresham family; Francis and Arabella are the Count and Countess of Gresham, and they have three children: Augusta, Rufus, and Beatrice. Arabella is a Chinese woman who grew up in Hong Kong and faced significant racism when she married into the English aristocracy. However, her wealth and impeccable taste have allowed her to achieve high social status and have great influence in the elite and jet-set social circles. Francis and Thomas have been friends since they were students; when Thomas was widowed, he moved closer to the estate so that Eden could grow up alongside the Gresham family after the death of her mother.

Eden and Rufus are particularly close, and unbeknownst to Eden, Rufus harbors romantic feelings for her. However, Arabella is fixated on the idea that her children should marry into aristocratic, prestigious, white European families. When Eden, Thomas, and the Gresham family travel to Hawaii for Augusta’s wedding, Arabella co-opts Beatrice and Eden into her plot to entice Rufus to fall for a French socialite. However, during the trip and the wedding festivities, Rufus and Eden only grow closer, and he eventually confesses his romantic feelings to her. Due to an accident with a microphone, Rufus’s admission of love and desire is partially broadcast to the wedding guests, leading Arabella to mistakenly believe that Rufus and Eden are already having a sexual relationship. Arabella is furious because she does not consider Eden to be the social equal of the Gresham family, and she does not view Eden as a desirable daughter-in-law.

After the wedding, Francis is forced to reveal his financial difficulties. Although the Gresham family creates the impression of having great wealth and luxury, Francis is burdened by huge debts. For years, Thomas has been secretly brokering loans between Francis and Rene Tan, a reclusive billionaire who is now severely ill.

Distressed by the news that her family is in a financially precarious position, Arabella grows even more furious with Eden (whom she views as the obstacle preventing Rufus from marrying a wealthy woman). As a result, Arabella mistreats Eden, causing Eden to take a trip to Los Angeles to get away from her.

While she is in LA, Eden meets Luis Felipe Tan, the spoiled and narcissistic son of Rene Tan. Even though his father is dying, Luis Felipe focuses solely on partying and living a self-indulgent life. Eden also briefly meets Rene, who seems oddly interested in her.

Having learned about his mother’s cruelty toward Eden, Rufus rushes to LA, where he and Eden reunite and decide to drive cross-country together. Along the way, they admit that they both have romantic feelings for one another. Meanwhile, Rene dies, and Luis Felipe is furious to learn that his father has created a complex system of trusts that prevent him from gaining free access to the vast fortune that he has inherited. However, Luis Felipe does now have access to the debts and collateral owed by the Gresham family.

Rufus and Eden return to England, where they learn of a number of family crises. Augusta’s marriage has already collapsed, Beatrice is unexpectedly pregnant, and Luis Felipe has demanded repayment of Francis’s debt on a very tight time schedule—unless Eden agrees to marry him. The Gresham family risks losing their estate, so Arabella begins pressuring Eden to marry Luis Felipe, although both Eden and Rufus strongly object to this idea.

Arabella eventually uncovers a family secret that she attempts to use to blackmail Eden into marrying Luis. Specifically, she learns that Eden’s biological father is not Thomas Tong; Thomas is her uncle, and she is the child of his brother, Henry Tong. Henry died in an accident after a confrontation with a man named Roger Gao. Roger was furious that Henry had impregnated his sister, Mary (Eden’s mother), but subsequently proposed to a different, wealthier woman. These events all took place in Hong Kong. Mary Gao then moved to Canada, where she gave birth to Eden and lived as a single mother under a new identity, cultivating rumors that she had died. Years later, when she was ill with cancer, Mary encountered Thomas by chance. Thomas helped her and adopted Eden, raising her as his own. Eden is shocked by this news, but it doesn’t change her relationship with her father, and Rufus loves her regardless.

Luis Felipe dies suddenly due to a drug overdose, and to everyone’s shock, the entire Tan fortune now passes to Eden. Thomas reveals the reason why: Rene Tan was originally Roger Gao (the brother of Eden’s mother, Mary). This family connection is the reason why Rene placed so much trust and confidence in Thomas, and why he felt affection for Eden upon meeting her in LA. Eden is now fabulously wealthy, and she also has control of the Gresham estate because she has inherited the debt and collateral. She reassures the Gresham family that she is happy to forgive the debt and would never turn them out of their home. Arabella is now eager for Eden and Rufus to marry, but they decide to simply focus on enjoying their relationship for the time being.