“I wrote this story because it speaks to my heart. It hits people differently – as it should. On one level, it’s a story about race, class, power and identity. Yet on a deeper level, it’s about love - the love of self, or lack thereof. It speaks to how an absence of self-love and self-acceptance can lead one down a path of pain, struggle, deception and superficiality. But alas, that path can also reveal terrifying and hidden truths out of which love can grow, if you are open to it. It’s a story that pushes us outside our areas of comfort.” ~ E.P. Sam
Jemma Worley, a Canadian millennial, has manipulated her lover, a wealthy architect, into purchasing the seaside manor of her dreams. Located on a palm-fringed Caribbean island, it seems the fulfillment of her fantasies and lifestyle ambitions.
But no sooner has she moved in than the ground of her familiar assumptions gives way. She is sent spiralling through a series of revelations as the manor unlocks its secrets. Beliefs about her values, personal and family history come apart. There is a lifeline but Jemma cannot see it.
Several key relationships have brought her to this place and predicament. There is Jack, rich patron and lover, but with secrets of his own to reveal. There is a mother who lied, a father who betrayed and a sister who died. But above all there is Zeke, a local man who attracts Jemma across the divides of race and class. Jemma is not who she thinks she is and that is terrifying, but like a moth to flame, she is drawn to the truth and it will change everything.