What happens when the man you love most in the world unexpectedly disappears and takes your small child with him? Emma Fedorâs âwonderful, haunting, and originalâ (Katherine Faulkner, author of Greenwich Park) debut explores the fierceness of first love and how far one woman will go to learn the truth about her family.
When Cara and Brendan first meet, sheâs fresh out of college, recovering from the recent death of her mother, and spending time on Marthaâs Vineyard while trying to figure out her next steps. Sheâs swept away by Brendanâs humor and charm, and intoxicated by his thrilling, dangerous secret: he can breathe underwater. Able to stay beneath the waves for longer than should be possible, Brendan reveals that he is part of a secret experimental unit of the US Special Forces. And Cara, struck by the power of his conviction, by his unstoppable charisma, and by the evidence before her, believes him.
Their summer romance turns serious. Then Cara gets pregnant. When their son, Micah, is born, sheâs sure their happy ending is underway. Still, sheâs thrown by Brendanâs dramatic moods, his unexplained disappearances, and the weight of his secrets. Cara is determined to stay strong for her young familyâuntil he and baby Micah vanish, leaving her desolate and alone and questioning everything she once thought was true.
Five years later, Cara is still struggling to move forward, married to another man and trying to rebuild her life, when a local fisherman announces heâs spotted two peopleâone of them a small childâtreading water in Nantucket Sound, far from any vessels and miles from shore. The news rekindles Caraâs never-abandoned hope that her little boy may still be alive. As she fights to untangle delusion from reality, and revisits a past sheâs worked hard to reconcile, Cara is determined to learn the truth about her lost love and finally find her son in this âbook you wonât be able to put downâ (Jessica Anya Blau, author of Mary Jane).