Ruby Chertok comes from a well connected white family and her father holds a faculty position at the prestigious Amberley School of Music. Not only that, he’s in charge of the upcoming season at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Having played and studies piano her entire life, it is expected that she will have a career as a classical pianist. She is confident that she’ll be accepted into Amberly, but she miserably fails her audition. How does she deal with the disappointment of her parents? What does she do next?

Enter Oscar Bell, a young black musical genius protégé who is to spend the summer studying with Ruby’s father. He’s charming, he is a YouTube sensation, and Ruby is smitten with him. Ruby moves in a privileged, mostly white circle. Oscar is from Maryland and is from a very different background. Oscar worries that people will assume he is dating Ruby to make inroads with her father.

Night Music is not just a romance. It delves into the theme of privilege and racial inequality in the classic music world, things most readers would otherwise be unaware of. The book has many musical elements that would resonate with those who play or enjoy classical music.