She built an advertising empire on Madison Avenue. Then she walked away . . .

Manhattan, 1962. Josephine 'Jo' Carmichael is the fashion world's reigning It Girl on the runways of Europe until she's forced back to New York for her estranged father's funeral. When she discovers his prestigious Madison Avenue ad agency is drowning in debt, Jo shocks everyone by wowing the board of directors and succeeding him as the new CEO. Branded 'the boss's daughter' in a male-dominated industry, Jo must outwit her 'Mad Men' rivals with a female team, win back major accounts, and prove she's more than just a pretty face--before her family's legacy goes up in smoke.

Present day, Port Huron, MI. Alex Carmichael has always lived in the shadow of her legendary grandmother, who once ruled the New York advertising world before mysteriously abandoning it for a quiet life running a flower shop in a lakeside Michigan town. Now, as Alex puts her own dreams on hold to care for her sharp-tongued, aging Gran, Jo makes one final, unexpected request that turns both of their worlds upside down: she insists on a return trip to New York.

With both of their futures in the balance, grandmother and granddaughter must come to terms with the truth behind Jo's sudden departure from the fast-paced world of a Manhattan C-suite all those years ago, and discover that ambition, sacrifice, love, and legacy are never simple.

Spanning decades from the Golden Age of advertising to today, The Making of a Mad Woman is a sweeping story of reinvention, family, and the courage it takes--for any generation of women--to claim the life they truly want.