This is a story of people whose lives are changing - a southern gentleman returning home to lead a more peaceful life and his talented New York wife who is not quite sure she is ready to make the transition. They are moving north to south, fast pace versus slow pace, downsizing. And while they are doing this, they are getting glimpses into other people's lives over the course of a summer, holidays that will amuse, shock and transform them.

By Invitation Only is a tale of two families, one struggling to do well, one well to do, and one young couple—the privileged daughter of Chicago’s crème de la crème and the son of hard -working Southern peach farmers. Dorothea Benton Frank offers a funny, sharp, and deeply empathetic novel of two very different worlds—of limousines and pickup trucks, caviars and pigs, skyscrapers and ocean spray—filled with a delightful cast of characters...

"It's 1924 South Carolina and the region is still recovering from the infamous boll weevil infestation that devastated the land and the economy. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters from starvation or die at the hands of an abusive husband. Retta is navigating a harsh world as a first-generation freed slave, still employed by the Coles, influential plantation proprietors who once owned her family....

The story of Eliza Lucas Pinckney, who ran her father's plantation outside Charleston, South Carolina in the 1700s and struck a bargain with the plantation's slaves--teach her how to make indigo and she would teach them to read.

Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby she witnesses the fatal shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals. She is targeted by a shadowy criminal couple called the Landrys, and, as the only person to see the shooter's face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation. After Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case he pledges to protect Ellie until...

"Beekeeper Holly McNee Kensen quietly lives in a world of her own on Sullivan's Island, tending her hives and working at the local island library. Holly calls her mother The Queen Bee because she's a demanding hulk of a woman. Her mother, a devoted hypochondriac, might be unaware that she's quite ill but that doesn't stop her from tormenting Holly. To escape the drama, Holly's sister Leslie married and moved away, wanting little to do with island...

Pat Conroy presents a dramatic novel that spans forty years and travels from the vanishing beauty of the South Carolina low country to the dusty glitter of New York City. Tom Wingo and his gifted yet troubled twin sister Savannah struggle to triumph over the dark and tragic legacy of their extraordinary family.

A chance meeting on the Isle of Palms, one of Charleston's most stunning barrier islands, brings former sweethearts Adam Stanley and Eve Landers together again. Their respective spouses, Eliza and Carl, fight sparks of jealousy flaring from their imagined rekindling of old flames. As Adam and Eve get caught up on their lives, their partners strike up a deep friendship -- and flirt with an unexpected attraction -- of their own. Year after year, Adam,...

It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just...

"Annie Sullivan had always envisioned returning to her hometown and starting a life with her childhood best friend, Tyler Townsend. But the Ty pursued a career in professional baseball and committed numerous infidelities--including an affair that ended with a three-year-old son on his doorstep. His betrayal cost her the family and the future they'd once planned. Now Annie is committed to her career as a physical therapist at the Corner Spa, the all-female...