A descendant of one of Hawaii's largest landowners, Matt King finds his luck changed when his wife Joanie falls into a coma, victim of a boating accident. Matt is left in sole charge of his two daughters, teenage ex-model and recovering drug addict Alex, and Scottie, a feisty ten-year-old. And then Matt discovers Joanie has been having an affair.

A descendant of one of Hawaii's largest landowners, Matt King finds his luck changed when his fun-loving, flighty wife Joanie falls into a coma, victim of a boating accident. Matt is left in sole charge of his two daughters, teenage ex-model and recovering drug addict Alex, and Scottie, a feisty ten-year-old. And then Matt discovers Joanie has been having an affair. Deciding to seek out Joanie's lover so that he too has a chance to say his goodbyes, Matt takes to the road with his daughters on a memorable journey of painful revelations and unexpected humour...

Review
“Gripping and funny... A brave and intelligent novel” Sunday Telegraph “Shockingly irreverent and funny while exerting that all-important emotional tug... A well-plotted, unexpectedly twisting saga” Guardian “Kaui Hart Hemmings' assured touch and her fine grasp of the absurd ensures that this novel steers a deliciously scenic route between heartbreak and hilarity” Daily Mail “An assured and subtle writer. The islands rise lush and untamed in the background” Observer “A darkly funny debut...a sharp story of emotional and sexual awakening in idyllic Hawaii” Metro

Kaui Hart Hemmings is the author of the critically acclaimed short-story collection House of Thieves. Her writing has appeared in Zoetrope, Best New American Voices 2006, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2004. Hemmings grew up in Hawaii and lives with her husband and daughter in San Francisco.