Jess and Josh are polar opposites—she’s Black, he’s white; she’s liberal, he’s conservative; she thinks he’s a racist jerk, he finds her extremely immature—whose mutual hatred transforms into mutual attraction and love in this hilarious, thought-provoking novel about whether love really can trump all.

When whip smart, charismatic Jess lands a job as an associate at Goldman Sachs, she feels ready to take on the world, or to at least start paying off some of her student loans. But on her first day on the job, she realizes she’ll be on the same team as Josh, a white conservative prep she used to spar with in college. Josh is a pro at playing devil’s advocate and at using “empirical evidence” to back up his arguments, and Jess has already decided that he’s the worst.

But for all his shortcomings, Josh is the only one to offer to help Jess when she’s stuck on a project. Feeling extremely underappreciated and overlooked as the sole Black woman on her floor, Jess is surprised to find that Josh offers her both comfort and distraction. Before long, an unlikely friendship forms between the two as they trade office gossip, discuss career goals, and fight over everything. This friendship eventually evolves into a heart-pounding, all-consuming romance that shocks them both.

They’re both blindingly happy, and Jess starts to realize: maybe it’s more important to be happy than right. But then it’s 2016, and the cultural and political landscape shifts underneath them. As things reach a fever pitch, Jess is forced to finally ask whether she and Josh are meant to be, and if, in fact everything’s fine.

Cecilia Rabess previously worked as a data scientist at Google and as an associate at Goldman Sachs. Her nonfiction has been featured in McSweeneys, FiveThirtyEight, Fast Company, and FlowingData, among other places. Everything’s Fine is her debut novel.