This modern summer romance set on Cape Cod features two young adult
poets divided by centuries.
Michaela Dunn, living on present day Cape Cod, dreams of getting into an
art school, something her family just doesn't understand. When her
stepfather refuses to fund a trip for a poetry workshop, Michaela finds
the answer in a local contest searching for a poet to write the
dedication plaque for a statue honoring Captain Benjamin Churchill, a
whaler who died at sea 100 years ago.
She struggles to understand why her town venerates Churchill, an almost
mythical figure whose name adorns the school team and various tourist
traps. When she discovers the 1862 diary of Leta Townsend, however, she
gets a glimpse of Churchill that she didn't quite anticipate. In 1862,
Leta Townsend writes poetry under the name Benjamin Churchill, a boy who
left for sea to hunt whales. Leta is astonished when Captain Churchill
returns after his rumored death. She quickly falls for him. But is she
falling for the actual captain or the boy she constructed in her
imagination?