Arrhythmia
 The novel is set in a busy Montreal hospital in 1999. Joelle, a secretary at a hospital, worries that her marriage is failing as her husband Marc continuously shows signs of distraction. Marc, who also works at the hospital, becomes obsessed with Ketia, a 19-year-old nurse. They become dear friends and eventually develop feelings towards each other; they make love in Ketia's car. Ketia lies to her family about her liaison with Marc, knowing that they would not approve. During this Joelle's former abusive boyfriend Emile arrives at the hospital with cancer. Joelle's best friend Diane, who is a whiz at crossword puzzles, is dating and living with her Muslim boyfriend, Nazim. Diane does not realize that Nazim has never told his family in Morocco about her. Nazim soon receives a letter from his sister Ghada, saying that she is coming to see him in Canada. Soon after Marc reveals to Joelle that he will be moving out of their home. Joelle learns of his liaison with Ketia. Nazim also reveals to Diane that his sister is coming and he doesn't want to reveal the truth, so Diane goes to stay with Joelle to help her cope while Ghada comes to town. It is revealed that Ketia's affair with Marc resulted in her becoming pregnant. Ketia does not want to reveal this to Marc let alone anyone else, however she eventually reveals the truth to her younger sister Gabrielle. They both know that their mother would not approve of her pregnancy. Marc finds out about Ketia's pregnancy through rumors at the hospital, and tells Joelle the truth. Ketia continues to avoid Marc as she does not want him to find out the truth; little did she know that rumors had already done that for her. Ketia worries about what she will do, as her mother will not support her choices to keep the baby. This leads to Ketia getting an abortion. Marc attempts to find Ketia and tell her that he knows and fully supports her, however other nurses tell Marc that what he is doing is sexually harassing Ketia by continuously following her, during which they reveal that Ketia terminated her pregnancy. With Marc now knowing all of this information, he returns to Joelle and asks for a second chance, which she declines. Joelle reveals that she is filing for divorce. Diane moves back to her apartment with Nazim, who sent Ghada back home without ever mentioning a word of her.