The daughter of notable literary journalist John McPhee, she graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and received her M.F.A. from Columbia University.

She received a National Endowment for the Arts grant to complete her first novel, Bright Angel Time, which was published in 1997 and was a New York Times Notable Book. Her second novel, Gorgeous Lies, a follow-up to Bright Angel Time, was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2002. Her third novel, L'America, was published in 2006. Her work has appeared in several literary journals included The New Yorker and Harper's Bazaar. She currently lives in New York City, where she teaches at Hofstra University.