In 1985 the Outer Banks was on a different pace than it is now. It was much less crowded then, the days quieter and more prosaic. In the spring of that year individuals and groups headed to this narrow spit of land. They were coming for different reasons, two older couples to take part in an amateur bird-watching experiment, a college sophomore looking to put some space between her and her boyfriend, an instructor from North Carolina State University sent to coordinate the ornithological observations. Coming with the instructor is an old friend who had shown up at his door on the morning he was to leave. It is this man, Rob Wheat, who has done and will do things that will change all their lives.