Here’s How I Pulled Off the Perfect Heist

I’ve always loved how heist stories follow a particular formula but manage to delight me every time. I never thought that I would have the ability to write one myself until the idea for Women of Good Fortune grabbed onto me one day and wouldn’t let go. Suddenly, I had this intense desire to explore the lives of the three women at its core, but against the backdrop of something dramatic and propulsive: they would plan and carry out a heist at Shanghai’s most anticipated society wedding. I realized that if I wanted this to be a heist novel, then I really had to commit to it. Thus commenced a furious week of studying, spreadsheeting, and outlining. Crafting the heist felt like tying a hundred threads together before untangling all of them again. 

Everyone, upon hearing about this book, asks me with a bit of laughter in their voices whether it’s based on a true story. If I did have to create the perfect heist, here’s how it would go:

The Schedule

Knowing the timing is the most important part of ensuring that events progress according to plan. I familiarized myself with the schedule of Chinese weddings, looking to the internet and friends for inspiration. I knew this would be a lavish wedding with multiple ceremonies, and that everything would need to be down to the minute. How much time does our crew have to bring in the equipment they need before guests arrive? If the reception is at 5pm and the first dance is at 7pm, is that enough time to go back and forth between the parking lot and venue to prepare the getaway car without being noticed? In Women of Good Fortune, three of the women orchestrating the heist are part of the wedding party as well, so they have to carefully balance those responsibilities with their heist plan to make sure they don’t arouse suspicion from other attendees like the overbearing mother of the groom. You must have the right excuse if you’re not sitting at the banquet table praising the roast duck!

The Blueprint

The wedding in Women of Good Fortune takes place on a manmade beach resort outside of Shanghai. I drew up a rough layout of the venue—the rooms where the wedding party would be staying, the grand banquet hall where the first dance and cake cutting would happen, the outdoor garden where the tea ceremony would unfold—in order to create a plan that fit the schedule. Where would the members of the wedding party and guests be at any given moment? Where could the heist crew store their various tools? Certain areas would be more exposed to security, which meant the women would have to take a different, more roundabout route or find other ways to evade detection. There’s a moment in the book where one of the characters is late on delivering, and as a result of the distance, our reluctant and elegant counterfeiter has to run to the location of the next stage of the plot to make it on time. She is very vexed about it, because she does. Not. Run. 

The Crew

A heist isn’t complete without its crew. There are some classic archetypes—the driver, the mastermind, the hacker—but this job had to go beyond that. Each crew member needed to have her own motivations for participating so that the payoff would be as satisfactory as possible. As I wrote, I began exploring how these women’s circumstances influenced their desires. That’s how I ended up, among others, a mastermind consultant who wants to freeze her eggs, a driver who is just trying to round out her Funko Pop collection, and a counterfeiter who’s ready for the real thing. 

After all this, I will probably never plan a real heist—it’s far too much work. 

About Women of Good Fortune:

Lulu has always been taught that money is the ticket to a good life. So, when Shanghai’s most eligible bachelor surprises her with a proposal, the only acceptable answer is yes, even if the voice inside her head is saying no. His family’s fortune would solve all her parents’ financial woes, but Lulu isn’t in love or ready for marriage.

The only people she can confide in are her two best friends: career-minded Rina, who is tired of being passed over for promotion while her male colleagues are rewarded; and Jane, a sharp-tongued, luxury-chasing housewife desperate to divorce her husband and trade up. Each of them desires something different: freedom, time, beauty. None of them can get it without money.

Lulu’s wedding is their golden opportunity. The social event of the season, it means more than enough cash gifts to transform the women’s lives. To steal the money on the big day, all they’ll need is a trustworthy crew and a brilliant plan. But as the plot grows increasingly complicated and relationships are caught in the cross fire, the women are forced to face that having it all might come at a steep price…