The Identicals

Elin Hilderbrand’s contemporary novel, The Identicals, was published in 2017. A best-selling author known for her popular works of commercial fiction often set on Nantucket, Hilderbrand is a longtime resident of the island. The novel draws heavily on the real-world cultural rivalry between the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. The story follows estranged identical twin sisters who, after a family tragedy, agree to swap islands and lives, confronting their pasts and paving the way for a potential reconciliation. The novel was a national bestseller and explores themes such as The Role of Empathy in Reconciliation, The Power of Place in Shaping Identity, and The Struggle to Escape the Past in a Small-Town Community.

This guide refers to the 2022 Back Bay Books trade paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, child death, death by suicide, substance use, sexual content, physical abuse, bullying, and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

The narrative opens by establishing the long-standing rivalry between the Massachusetts islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. This rivalry mirrors the estrangement between identical twin sisters Harper and Tabitha Frost. For 14 years, since the death of Tabitha’s infant son, Julian, the sisters have been separated by “those eleven miles” of water between them that “might as well be eleven hundred” (394). Tabitha blames Harper for Julian’s death because Harper persuaded a reluctant Tabitha to go out for a night of drinking, leaving the infant in his father’s care the night Julian died. When the sisters were teenagers, their parents divorced, and each of them took a daughter to raise. The twins both wanted to live with their father, Billy Frost, so they played rock, paper, scissors, and Harper won and moved to the Vineyard. Tabitha left to live on Nantucket with their mother, the fashion designer Eleanor Roxie-Frost.

On Martha’s Vineyard, Harper sits at her father’s bedside as he dies from congestive heart failure. Her life is complicated by a secret affair with Billy’s married doctor, Reed Zimmer, and a new, casual relationship with a young police officer, Sergeant Drew Truman. She also maintains a close, platonic friendship with Brendan Donegal, a former surfer who suffered a serious brain injury in the water. Harper sends a text to Tabitha informing her of Billy’s death, but she receives no reply.

On Nantucket, Tabitha attends a cocktail party, still reeling from her recent breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Ramsay Striker. She struggles to manage her rebellious 16-year-old daughter, Ainsley Cruise, and run her mother’s failing fashion boutique. After receiving Harper’s text, Tabitha returns home to find that Ainsley has thrown a party while grounded, causing damage to a prized piece of furniture and deepening the conflict between them.

Tabitha, Ainsley, and Eleanor travel to Martha’s Vineyard for Billy’s memorial reception. The reunion between the sisters is tense and awkward. Ainsley, who has only met her aunt twice before, feels an immediate connection to Harper. The reception is thrown into chaos when Reed’s wife, Sadie Zimmer, publicly confronts and slaps Tabitha, mistaking her for Harper and exposing the affair. Eleanor coolly dismisses Sadie, but the damage to Harper’s reputation is done.

In the aftermath, Harper faces severe social and professional consequences. Drew breaks up with her, Reed cuts off all contact to protect his career, and she’s fired from her delivery job. Facing ostracism and financial uncertainty, Harper decides she must sell Billy’s house and leave the island. Meanwhile, Tabitha and her family return to Nantucket, where a heavily intoxicated Eleanor falls down the front steps of her house and breaks her hip. Tabitha must accompany her mother to Boston for surgery, leaving Ainsley unsupervised. Ainsley seizes the opportunity and invites Harper to stay with her on Nantucket without her mother’s consent.

Harper moves into the carriage house with her Siberian husky, Fish, providing a stable and nurturing presence in Ainsley’s life. Tabitha eventually agrees to let Harper stay while she cares for Eleanor, and Ainsley and Harper bond, taking over management of the boutique. With the help of the pregnant manager, Meghan, and a new hire, Ramsay’s charismatic rebound after Tabitha but now ex-girlfriend, Caylee Keohane, Harper and Ainsley revitalize the store. They throw a successful party that boosts sales and transforms the boutique’s stuffy reputation into a progressive, popular destination.

While Eleanor recovers in Boston, Tabitha goes to Martha’s Vineyard to handle the sale of Billy’s house. Seeing its potential, she decides to undertake a full renovation instead of selling it as a teardown, hoping for a much larger profit. She hires Franklin Phelps, Sadie Zimmer’s brother, as the contractor. They quickly fall into a passionate and secret love affair.

Ainsley’s social life unravels when her boyfriend Teddy breaks up with her, citing her negative influence on his life. Seeking revenge on her friend, Candace Beasley, who is now dating Teddy, Ainsley and her best friend, Emma Marlowe, plant gin and a baggie with cocaine residue in Candace’s locker. The plan backfires when Emma betrays Ainsley, who is suspended from school. Ostracized by her friends, Ainsley finds a mentor and confidante in Caylee and begins to focus on self-improvement.

Harper’s life takes a dramatic turn when she realizes she’s pregnant with Reed’s child. Her financial situation becomes more precarious when she learns Tabitha is renovating Billy’s house, delaying the sale and the payout she desperately needs. The sisters argue over the phone, reigniting old resentments. Soon after, Harper receives a call from Brendan’s mother, Edie, informing her that Brendan has died by suicide.

Devastated, Harper travels with Ainsley to Martha’s Vineyard to comfort Edie. She visits Billy’s house and is stunned by the beautiful renovation. She and Tabitha have another explosive argument in which Tabitha reveals that Franklin has ended their relationship under pressure from Sadie, who sees any association with Harper as a form of betrayal. The fight escalates as the twins rehash the pain of their separation and the night of Julian’s death. Harper leaves furious and hurt, and a distraught Tabitha drives to Reed’s cottage. Impersonating Harper, she intends to seduce him as an act of revenge, but cannot follow through and confesses her identity.

Back on Nantucket, Eleanor orchestrates a family intervention. She reveals her long-held guilt, admitting she believes the stress she put on a pregnant Tabitha caused Julian’s premature birth. This confession forces the sisters to confront their painful history. They finally embrace and forgive one another, after which Harper announces her pregnancy.

Harper and Tabitha return to Martha’s Vineyard together. They scatter Billy’s ashes at Farm Neck Golf Club and in Oak Bluffs harbor, marking a final, shared farewell to their father. Their reconciliation is solidified when Franklin, with Sadie’s blessing, arrives on Nantucket to reunite with Tabitha. Reed also travels to Nantucket to find Harper, and they reunite as he learns he’s going to be a father.

In the Epilogue, told from the dog Fish’s perspective, Harper and Reed are living together in Brendan’s old cottage on Chappaquiddick, preparing for the baby’s arrival, their bond with Tabitha finally restored.