It's the Jazz Age! Marguerite feels aligned with this new, vibrant decade. Women have gained the right to vote. Gone are corsets, long dresses, and Victorian attitudes.
In spring of 1912, the world is reeling from the news that the largest ocean liner in the world, the Titanic, sunk in the North Atlantic with a tremendous loss of life. Marguerite Hartranft returns to Grenell to find her tiny island paradise has also suffered a loss—fire destroyed eight cottages since her departure last fall. As the smoke clears, the only thing certain is that change is imminent.
By 1904 the Summer population of Grenell Island Park has swelled to several hundred. Marguerite craves the serenity of her beloved island to soothe her weary soul. But this year, the island is far from tranquil. A recent storm has wreaked havoc. The St. Lawrence River is at an all-time high. So are tensions on the island. Many residents have been subpoenaed to testify in an ongoing land dispute.
Welcome to 1893, an age of technological wonders! Newly-minted millionaires have built palatial summer homes up and down the river. Trains and steamships bring thousands to grand hotels. Even tiny Grenell Island has a posh hotel, the Pullman House. On the other side of the bridge from the hotel, a new resort, Grenell Island Park, is booming.
Sixteen-year-old Marguerite Hartranft, the boldest of three sisters in a well-bred West Philadelphia family, balks when her mother tells her, "You do not need to understand. You need only to listen and obey." Marguerite has a passion for learning and questioning everything. When she thinks her parents plan to send her to a convent, she runs away to Thousand Islands, New York.