"Evocative, impactful, moving ..." Midsummer 1994, a disillusioned Jake Crawford quits a prominent scientific career and retreats to the island home of his youth, longing for its old Florida way of life. Within hours of his arrival, he becomes entangled in a tragic series of events involving a billionaire real estate developer and a reclusive bridgetender with a long-hidden past. Jake's struggle to navigate those events will determine whether Marcosta Island preserves its culture and native beauty or succumbs to the same overpopulation and environmental harm that has befallen the rest of southwest Florida.