NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK - A lyrical and intimate novel following two families as they struggle to heal, from the award-winning author of The Tortilla Curtain

"Boyle portrays the heartbreaking toll San Miguel takes on these couples in a novel as beguiling as the island itself."--O, The Oprah Magazine

Just off the coast of Southern California, two families--one in the late 1880s and one in the 1930s--come to desolate, windswept San Miguel Island in search of self-reliance, freedom, and a new start in their lives.

In failing health, Marantha Waters arrives with her husband, a stubborn Civil War veteran who plans to take over the island's sheep ranch. Some forty years later, Elise Lester settles the island with her husband, a World War I veteran full of manic energy. Both Marantha and Elise strive to help their husbands pursue their dreams but must themselves grapple with the more nebulous hardships of raising a family in brutal isolation.