by Ann Weil
First published 1988
Fourteen-year-old Michele watches a magnificent vessel with red sails glide into the harbor of his island home. The ship carries three mysterious passengers who take rooms at his family's inn on Capri. Each traveler pursues a different quest. One seeks beauty in all its forms. Another hunts for adventure wherever it might lead. The third searches for something he cannot easily put into words. Their arrival transforms Michele's quiet life into something far more complex. The strangers bring secrets that will alter not just the boy's understanding of the world, but the fate of everyone on the island. As Michele becomes drawn into their mysterious purposes, he discovers that some visitors change everything they touch. The three men's separate quests intertwine with the life of Capri itself, creating consequences that reach far beyond what anyone could predict.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, coming-of-age, mystery
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, mysterious-strangers
Setting: Capri, Italy
Period: 20th-century
160 pages · Paperback · Viking Books for Young Readers