Ruth, An Only Child Of Kenyan Immigrant Parents, Lives In An Emotionally Cold Household And Attends The Local Catholic Girl's School On A Scholarship. Maria, A Beautiful Orphan Whose Panamanian Mother Dies By Suicide And Is Taken Care Of By An Ill Aunt, Is Also One Of The Only Other Students Of Color At The School. When Ruth Becomes Drawn Into Maria's Orbit, And They Fall Into An Easy, Yet Intense, Friendship, Ruth's World Opens Up. While Maria Eases Into Her Full Self, Embracing Her Queerness And Her Own Creative Pursuits, Ruth Is Mostly Content To Follow Her Around: To College And Then Into The Early-90s Art World Of New York City. There, The Push And Pull Of Female Ambition And Friendship Tear, And Come Back Together, Over The Years As Maria Finds Success In The Art World And While Ruth Stumbles Along The Fringes Of It While Deciding To Go Down A More Traditional Path Of Marriage. As Their Lives Converge And Diverge, It Culminates In One Final Confrontation. What Does It Mean To Be An Artist? To Be True To Oneself? Marking The Arrival Of A Sensational New Literary Talent, Lonely Crowds Interrogates The Nature Of Friendship, Desire, And Time, Challenging Us To Reckon Honestly With Our Own Ambitions And The Lives We Hope To Lead-- Provided By Publisher.