Caroline (CiCi) Marcum grew up in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, a fishing village on Cape Cod. She graduated high school, attended college, became a teacher, and married. But a tragic accident forever changed the course of CiCi’s life, and she fled to Chicago. Six years later, Caroline finds herself back in Wellfleet carrying for her ailing mother. Lonely and grieving, she reconnects with fellow Cape native Ridley Neal, a fourth-generation fisherman who inherited his father’s sea farm. While Rid is sympathetic to Caroline’s plight, he is embroiled in a legal battle to save his livelihood and cannot provide the emotional support CiCi so desperately needs.

After suffering a devastating loss, Teresa DiPaulo battled debilitating depression and had to find a way to survive. Years later, she is slowly putting her life back together, but painful reminders of her past still have the power to submerge her in unbridled grief. A tangled web of secrets, miscommunication, and deception emerges when a chance encounter causes the past and present to collide. As danger lurks and stakes rise, tempers flare, and suspicion grows. Trust is a rare commodity, and mercy is the sweetest gift of all.

Vivid imagery perfectly captures the majestic beauty of seascapes, sunrises, and sunsets on the Cape. The author provides an exhaustive account of the back-breaking labor, risks, and challenges faced by oyster and clam farmers. The book also meticulously details the long history of Massachusetts sea farming. Hugo uses well-developed characters and multiple side plots to explore recurrent themes of loss, grief, redemption, and mercy. She skillfully portrays the intensity of her characters’ emotions, enabling readers to share their pain, anxiety, and frustration. This 10th anniversary edition provides a new afterword detailing the dramatic lawsuit filed twenty years ago against Wellfleet aquaculturists which served as the inspiration for this novel.

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