In season, tourists and travelers are the lifeblood of industry for Conder Beach, a small vacation town on the Gulf Coast; out of season, the town shutters and its residents await the return of their trade. But when bodies start to appear on the beach in a string of unaccountable deaths - threatening the reputation of the town in addition to the lives of its people - Conder Beach is forced to contend with both the mystery of what may or may not be crimes, and with its increasingly perilous relationship to outsiders. Simultaneously, a romance is budding - between Jordan, waiter at a popular beachfront restaurant in town, and Diane, Conder Beach native and owner of a local souvenir shop. Separated in age by at least ten years - and, in other aspects of their lives, by more substantial margins - their lust is an unwieldy affair. Regardless, as time goes by the involvement deepens as Jordan and Diane are irresistibly drawn to a new awareness of their own bodies. - All the while, more bodies wash up on Conder Beach.—Jonathan Patten