Secluded in a worn out 1920's cottage on the Chesapeake Bay, Rainey Grant goes outdoors when weather turns stormy, often when neighbors flee indoors. Researching her area of the bay, she finds solace imagining the adventures of long ago citizens, preferring their lives to the reality of her own messed-up life. Studying the ruins of a nearby Civil War prison camp, and decades of it aftermath on the area and its people, Rainey feels as though she understands those people; perhaps more than she understands herself. Then on day black clouds loom over the bay, accompanied by strong winds. As the severity of the storm increases, Rainey is urged by an elderly neighbor, and reluctantly agrees, to take refuge in his less frail cottage. While avoiding conversation about herself, Rainey is asked to share her research. She agrees to give an account of a Confederate prisoner of war, mysteriously murdered while a prisoner at Point Lookout, in 1864. But before Rainey finishes her story, the storm evolves into a hurricane, threatening to sweep away the last of the remaining cottages; survivors of an era gone by.
About the Author: As a young girl, Paula Farrar made up stories as she went along, sharing them at the kitchen table each night with her family. Since they were a captive audience, she would carry a story on for days until she could come up with a good ending. That passion turned into a lifelong dream of writing, as she continued to believe that one day she would actually start. Paula wrote in high school and took college writing courses, determined to complete her goal, but life happened. Yet, after raising two children and helping her husband run a business, she finally took the time to begin. Along the way, Paula kept in touch with people and their life stories. For several years she volunteered at a Crisis Pregnancy Center, giving her heart and help to women and children as they struggled through the challenges they faced in life. She also assists young girls in the AWANA club at her church as well as leading a women's group, encouraging them as they navigate through the various rough roads that life often brings to them. Paula also participates in leading a Life's Healing Choices ministry at her church, presenting ways to face the hurts, hang-ups and habits that happen in life. It is through these opportunities of sharing lives and participating in events with these women and young girls, that Paula has learned to appreciate the individuality and value of each one, and she hopes that her stories reflect that value. Paula and her husband live near the Chesapeake Bay. She spends much of her time researching and writing her stories on the bay, where her husband is kept busy making frequent repairs to their old cottage.