The mothers on Manhattan's chic Upper East Side are highly educated, extremely wealthy, and very competitive. They throw themselves and all of their energy and resources into full-time child rearing, turning their kids into the unwitting pawns in a game where success is measured in precocious achievements, jam-packed schedules, and elite private-school pedigrees.

Hannah Allen has recently moved to the neighborhood with her New York City-bred investment banker husband and their two-year-old daughter, Violet. She's immediately inundated by an outpouring of advice from her not-so-well-intentioned new friends and her overbearing, socially conscious mother-in-law, who coach her on matters ranging from where to buy the must-have $300 baby dress to how to get into the only pre-pre-preschool that counts. Despite her better instincts and common sense, Hannah soon finds herself caught up in the competitive whirl of high-stakes mothering.

Jill Kargman is the author of Momzillas and the coauthor of Wolves in Chic Clothing and The Right Address, which were both New York Times and BookSense bestsellers. She has written for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Interview, Town & Country, British GQ, Elle, Teen Vogue, Style.com, and Travel & Leisure. She grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and now lives there with her family.