Author(s): Vanessa LaFaye

General

Florida, 1935. In Heron Key the locals are preparing for the 4th of July barbecue, unaware that their world is about to change for ever. Missy, the Kincaid family's maid, feels that she has wasted her life pining for Henry, whom she hasn't seen since before the war. Now he's returned with a group of other destitute veterans, unsure of his future, ashamed of his past. When a white woman is found brutally beaten, suspicion falls on Henry. And as the tensions rise, the barometer starts to plummet. The residents think they're ready, and so do the soldiers. They're wrong. For far out over the Atlantic, the greatest storm ever to strike America is heading their way...Based on real events, Summertime is a stunning debut novel, a glorious love story and a mesmerizing account of survival. It evokes vividly what happens when people in a small community are tested to the absolute limits of their endurance.