The New York Times bestselling author of A Certain Age transports readers to sunny Florida in this lush and enthralling historical novel—an enchanting blend of love, suspense, betrayal, and redemption set among the rumrunners and scoundrels of Prohibition-era Cocoa Beach.
Burdened by a dark family secret, Virginia Fortescue flees her oppressive home in New York City for the battlefields of World War I France. While an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, she meets a charismatic British army surgeon whose persistent charm opens her heart to the possibility of love. As the war rages, Virginia falls into a passionate affair with the dashing Captain Simon Fitzwilliam, only to discover that his past has its own dark secrets—secrets that will damage their eventual marriage and propel her back across the Atlantic to the sister and father she left behind.
Five years later, in the early days of Prohibition, the newly widowed Virginia Fitzwilliam arrives in the tropical boomtown of Cocoa Beach, Florida, to settle her husband’s estate. Despite the evidence, Virginia does not believe Simon perished in the fire that destroyed the seaside home he built for her and their young daughter. Separated from her husband since the early days of their marriage, the headstrong Virginia plans to uncover the truth, for the sake of the daughter Simon never met.
Simon’s brother and sister welcome her with open arms and introduce her to a dazzling new world of citrus groves, white beaches, bootleggers, and Prohibition agents. But Virginia senses a predatory presence lurking beneath the irresistible, hedonistic surface of this coastal oasis. The more she learns about Simon and his mysterious business interests, the more she fears that the dangers that surrounded Simon now threaten her and their daughter’s life as well.
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“A gripping novel of scandal and suspense…An engrossing beach read with enough twists and turns, action and surprises to keep anyone riveted.”
— RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, Top Pick!)
“A good choice for reading on one’s own (hopefully less perilous) vacation in sunny Florida or snug at home.”
— Booklist“Romance and mystery, war and Prohibition, infidelity and murder, inheritance and lies…Williams spins a good, spirited yarn.”
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Beatriz Williams is the author of numerous novels and series of novels of historical romance and historical mystery fiction. The Summer Wives and The Golden Hour were New York Times bestsellers. A native of Seattle, she graduated from Stanford University and earned an MBA in finance from Columbia University, then spent several years in New York and London as a corporate strategy consultant before pursuing her passion for historical fiction.
Eva Kaminsky is a New York–based actor and audiobook narrator with over 150 titles to her credit. She trained at Boston University and has acted in numerous productions on television and film, including Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Happyish, Ugly Betty, ER, Numbers, Law & Order, and others.
Alex Wyndham, an Oxford University and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art graduate, is a narrator and voice talent who can be heard on Apple TV campaigns and Discovery Channel documentaries. He also has a successful screen career and has starred in several BBC and HBO shows, including the Emmy-winning Little Dorrit and Rome, and in films including Kenneth Branagh’s As You Like It.