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Ideal (novel)Ideal is a posthumously published 2015 novel by Ayn Rand.

The July 7, 2015 first edition of the novel was published featuring the book version along with the 1936 Ayn Rand play Ideal.

Plot
Millionaire Granton Sayers is killed on the same evening that he has dinner with famous actress Kay Gonda. Gonda goes on the run, and both the police and journalist Morrison Pickens are searching for her. Pickens visits Gonda's publicist, Mick Watts, who is drunk and rambles about Gonda being on a "great quest". Gonda has taken with her six letters written by fans in the Los Angeles area. She visits each of the letter writers seeking their help to hide, but she is repeatedly disappointed.

The first fan, George Perkins, initially offers to hide Gonda, but changes his mind when his wife objects. The wife of the second fan, Jeremiah Sliney, is more agreeable, and they offer Gonda a room for the night. Afterwards, Gonda hears the couple plotting to turn her in for a reward, so she flees. Dwight Langley, an artist who claims in his letter to have drawn Gonda's face many times, does not recognize her when she comes to him. The next fan she visits, Claude Ignatius Hix, is very religious. He urges Gonda to turn herself in and confess her sins. The fifth fan, Dietrich von Esterhazy, says he would be honored to protect her, but then attempts to rape her.

The final fan Gonda visits, Johnnie Dawes, is the only one who lives up to what he had written to her. As they talk, Gonda repeatedly tries to destroy the admiration Dawes expressed for her in his letter. She tells him that she has slept with "every man in the studio", and suggests that he should try to exploit her for her money and connections. Dawes tells her that she has already given him everything he ever wanted from her. She tells him that she did kill Sayers, although no one else witnessed it. Dawes gives her his bed for the night. The next morning, he tells Gonda he has a plan to save her. He tells her to drive away from the city and come back the next evening. When Gonda returns, she learns that Dawes has committed suicide, leaving a false confession to the murder of Sayers. Sayers' widow reveals that her husband had also committed suicide; Gonda had nothing to do with his death.

Watts, now sober, confronts Gonda, saying she caused Dawes to commit suicide by pretending to have killed Sayers. Gonda responds that her deception "was the kindest thing I have ever done."

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