On the bracing edges of Alaska, a single mother is driven to secure her legacy in a powerful novel of family, forgiveness, and finding one’s place in the world by the author of Point of Direction.

It’s been years since Ellie fished the Alaskan coastline—not since her mother died. But when she finds her father beat up behind the local bar, she learns he’s done the unforgivable: gambled away the family’s commercial fishing boat—her five-year-old son’s inheritance and the life she longs to reclaim. For nefarious reasons of his own, the bookie gives them one season to earn the money to buy it back.

Ellie agrees to fish with her father, Pete, bringing her son, Drew, along as they chase the slim hope of paying off the debt. She’s no stranger to backbreaking work and little sleep; what she’s never been good at is accepting help—or trusting anyone, especially a secretive homesteader with demons of his own. Ellie’s growing attraction and the dangerous waters are the least of her worries. She’s hiding secrets from everyone and, as the date with the bookie draws closer, she is at risk of losing it all.

© 2026 by Rachel Susan Weaver, all rights reserved.