This book is dedicated to my wife Patricia, and I want to explain why in a way that goes a little deeper than the dedication page allows. Writing a novel is not a short project or a tidy one. There are stretches of time when it pulls you somewhere else entirely, and the people around you notice the absence even when you are physically present. Patricia gave me the space to follow this story where it needed to go, and she reminded me what the story was actually about when I lost track. A fulfilled life in a paradise meant to be shared. That is what she gave me, and that is what this book is trying to say.