One Summer in Savannah: A Novel

Content Warning: The section of the guide includes discussion of child death, illness, rape, and death by suicide.

Sara Lancaster sits on a Maine beach timing her eight-year-old daughter, Alana, as Alana practices holding her breath. Sara ruminates on her experience of maternal love, which is especially complicated for Sara because of the rape that resulted in Alana’s conception. On the way home, Alana begs Sara to let her enter the Google Science Fair competition, throwing Sara into conflict. She wants to allow Alana to explore her intellect but is afraid that such a public competition could lead to Alana’s paternal family discovering her existence. Sara distracts Alana with a trip to McDonald’s, but on consideration, she decides to allow Alana to enter the contest. On the drive home, Sara gets a call from her father’s phone number, but it’s her father’s girlfriend, Sylvia. Sylvia tells Sara that Hosea, Sara’s father, has had a heart attack and is going into surgery. Sylvia insists that Sara come to Savannah, Georgia, and Sara agrees.

Jacob Wyler, the identical twin brother of Sara’s rapist, Daniel, works to start his boat to get to the island cabin he’s rehabilitating on his own.