First published 2005
Rebecca Simms arrives at Pawleys Island carrying the wreckage of her former existence. Her marriage has collapsed. Her children are gone from her daily life. Her art feels meaningless. She chooses this South Carolina barrier island as her refuge, hoping to disappear from the world and from herself. But Pawleys Island refuses to let anyone hide for long. An octogenarian with sharp eyes and sharper wisdom begins drawing out Rebecca's buried truths. A local gallery owner who sells to decorators and tourists offers unexpected opportunities. A retired Columbia attorney, comfortable in her established routines, finds her orderly world disrupted when Rebecca's turbulent energy enters it. These three islanders pull Rebecca into their orbit whether she wants it or not. Through their persistence and the island's own strange magic, Rebecca must confront what she's running from and discover what she's running toward.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Pawleys Island, South Carolina
320 pages · Hardcover · Piatkus Books