In the late Sixties, having secured title to a sub-parcel of the land, Katie enjoys an inheritance from deceased Jan McLoughlin, which money funds some long overdue upgrades including a new vehicle, a state-of-the-art greenhouse, and the retention of hired help at her Redwood Coast Nursery. But now mother and daughter must sustain their presence against an onslaught of harassments by their new neighboring landowner: Yo-Mizo-Sata International Ltd. holds the smaller property landlocked and wants the Lowries out so that the greater property can be developed by Monteflores Inc.
The gradual desertion of Cliffport by Donald Duncan, Katie’s teenage son—and his ultimate disappearance into Northern California’s Emerald Triangle—do not help matters on the home front, but the appearance of a Dutch-expat plantsman provides spirited reinforcement and know-how to the struggling family business; Pieter Tuelling’s bonhomie—marbled through with Old-World melancholy—matches Katie’s own moodiness: the education of a nurserywoman evolves into profound friendship.
With Elsie’s eventual death, there is no one left alive to respond to Katie’s reflections upon the curiosity of how—though neither kin nor next of kin—she has become the repository of the McLoughlin clan’s collective memorabilia and the sole guardian of Cliffport’s pioneer cemetery as well as the ancient redwoods of its Chapel Grove. Solo, surrounded by hostile forces on all sides, Katie finds herself in need of regrouping; she retreats, vacating the premises—temporarily.
Sample pages: Map & Table of Contents Book Five • Chapter 1
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