eric rudd

Rachel Bernardi is a fishing-boat captain who must assume a larger leadership role when change threatens her neighborhood. A developer’s designs for an upscale, ocean-view housing development have targeted the property where Rachel and her working-class neighbors happen to reside. Citing “eminent domain,” and an old repossession clause written into the property by the timber company that originally owned the tract, the developer sees their aged homes as an expendable commodity. It’s another "leveraged buy-out scheme," but this one is personal. The setting is Shamrock, a small seaside town in the modern day.
When these uninvited winds of change blow into Shamrock, tension results. Rachel, who commands her boat and her life with courage but also humanity, takes center stage as the conflict goes public. Hudson Rivers is a rangy country singer-songwriter with Nashville training but Shamrock roots, whose heart pulls him into the drama, and inexorably toward Rachel.
Real-world implications of a neighborhood’s angst take shape as Hope Tisdale, a local child whose family is caught in the drama, becomes desperately ill. Rachel’s aged-mariner father, Cappy, wanders off in an ill-fated attempt to escape the fugue.
Amid this tumult, help comes in unexpected ways. Friend Sidney Blue from Nashville, who happens to be black, lends a hand but also historical context in this newest version of class warfare. Another friend from a distant land and another culture hears of Cappy’s peril, and comes to his aid.
The story intentionally channels a microcosm of Wallstreet vs. everyman. David Trask is the developer and CEO who plays only one game: hardball. The story of one neighborhood’s struggle against the odds replays an ageless theme, which in its depiction here may prove cathartic to the reader who has been through so much this decade. In this tale Trask, clearly the embodiment of the Wallstreet/CEO ethic, is exposed to mainstreet scrutiny.
Will Rachel save the day? Will Hudson’s most important song ignite the hearts of the homeland? Will Cappy be found? Can friendship, loyalty, music, and Hope survive in a ruthless world? The answer depends on you and me.