Once a vital fresh water stop on the Caribbean trading routes, tiny Key West, Florida, has moved into the twenty-first century. The great sailing ships and the pirates are now the stuff of museums, but this island's legacy as an adventurer's haven still lives on in Hemingway's words and in the modern day treasure and pleasure seekers. Like adventure, love too is timeless and the tropical heat of Key West holds an eternal spark for passion. Almerinda Marie Adams left her small town heartbreak behind, to take a chance on the island oasis. Her goals are modest; make a living, make friends, make a fresh start. But Ally didn't count on the magnetic pull of the past, or the charms of a seductive ghost. Captain Jonathon Lowell is only a compelling figure found in the local history books; or is he? Ally finds herself drawn to the landmark Lowell House and to learning more about this hero from another century. And why not? Romance in today's world proves more elusive to her than daydreams about a legendary sea captain from time gone by. Perhaps dreams and yearnings have more power than we know. Starting with the discovery of an antique box in a local shop, through special sightings, and building toward a storm of island shattering proportions, all signs are leading Ally closer to her hero. Suddenly, Ally's plan to make a fresh start takes on new meaning, and she learns that the adventure which all generations long for, can hold dangers as well as rewards. Launched into an exotic new world, Ally becomes Merinda, a mystery woman with a past impossible to reveal, especially to the man who has haunted her dreams and holds her destiny. Ally's greatest challenge may be to learn to accept the ageless secrets of lasting love.