Incisive, controversial and startlingly funny, The Rules of Attraction examines a group of affluent students at a small, self-consciously bohemian, liberal-arts college on America's East Coast.

Lauren, who changes the man in her bed even more often than she changes course, is dating Victor but sleeping with Sean. Sean - cool, ambivalent and deeply cynical - might be in love with Lauren, but he's not going to let that stop him from bedding Paul. Paul, as shrewd as he is passionate, is Lauren's ex-lover and the final point in this curious triangle.

From the author of American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis's The Rules of Attraction is a breathtaking tale of sex, expectation, desire and frustration.

Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.