1964: A dark summer night on a still black lake. A lantern is lit at the end of a dock. A blond girl in white appears and begins to dance, her body illuminated like the fireflies surrounding her. A second girl emerges from a house and is beckoned forward. The two meet, swim, and then kiss, beginning an ethereal romance and a young woman’s journey into adulthood.
Robin Bennet, 14, has been accidentally abandoned at a lakeside rental in the Pocono Mountains. Her parents argue and leave, each believing the other has remained with Robin. Alone, Robin discovers that someone has been sleeping in the house and stealing vodka and snacks. A fifteen-year-old boy, Kieran, the charming intruder, invites himself to dinner. He is the brother of the beautiful girl who magically appeared on the dock the night before. After he departs, the “Firefly” returns, lights the lantern, and circles around it. Robin joins her; the two swim and make love. When Robin awakens, the Firefly—Stella—has disappeared, and Robin’s mother arrives, announcing a return to New Jersey because she’s divorcing Robin’s father. Frantic, Robin tries to find Stella, a search that continues while Robin builds a career as an architect in Manhattan, fails in marriage, and struggles with her sexual identity.
Available in paperback and eBook
