A fictional narrative in which Fran Benedetto, a woman who was abused by her husband, examines the reasons why she stayed in her marriage for so long, and ponders whether leaving was the right thing to do.

Pearl's mother took her away from her family just weeks after she was born, and drove off to central Florida determined to begin a new life for herself and her daughter--in the parking lot next to a trailer park. Pearl grew up in the front seat of their '94 Mercury, while her mother lived in the back. Despite their hardships, mother and daughter both adjusted to life, making friends with the residents of the trailers and creating a deep connection...

"Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye, a pop star since she was fourteen - and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster. Now meet Cherry's 'undercover stunt double', Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too wasted to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzi Bang Abbott. Cherry's handlers want to rescue Ann while keeping her existence...

Blaming herself for the horrifying crime that sent her brother to death row, Reina Castillo moves to a sleepy town in the Florida Keys, where a friendship with an exiled Cuban helps her understand her connection to the life-giving and destructive forces of the ocean.

A collection of stories spanning centuries of time in mercurial Florida examines the decisions and connections behind life-changing events in characters ranging from two abandoned sisters to a conflicted family woman.

Henry Steadman didn't know what was about to hit when he pulled up to a red light. As a successful Florida plastic surgeon, he is in a town just outside Jacksonville, Florida to deliver a keynote address at a conference when suddenly his life becomes an unrelenting chase to stay alive. A random act of violence plunges him into a nightmarish world; he is accused of murdering two people and must clear his name and discover who is trying to destroy...

"Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts. Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer's block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious...

Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site. Unfortunately, Roy's first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, if Dana hadn't been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing:...

Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

Stone Barrington and several friends are vacationing in Florida when an extreme weather event puts a damper on their trip. Even worse, the hurricane-force winds blow a powerful, noxious politician straight onto Stone's doorstep. Though they part ways before long, Stone soon learns that he hasn't seen the last of his new acquaintance. It turns out that this official has some shady associates who may have destructive plans afoot, and Stone needs an...