Dark Isle is said to be cursed: drownings, disappearances and hauntings have been the fate of intruders. It was settled by freed slaves 300 years ago, and their descendants lived there until 1955, when the last one was forced to leave. Now abandoned, it is the target of greedy developers. Lovely Jackson is the last survivor of Dark Isle and claims to be its legal owner. But there is not a shred of evidence to prove that is true. It's unlikely that the developers will be deterred by the claims of one old woman. They have millions; Lovely only has Steven Mahon, a pro bono environmental lawyer, and Mercer Mann, a floundering novelist, to fight in her corner. With the court case looming and the bulldozers waiting to roll in, Steven and Mercer are in a race against time to unearth the truth behind Lovely's story and, together, save the legacy of the island.