The Boat House Cafe — Linda Cardillo

The islanders of Chappaquiddick have a saying: “Some come here to hide; others come to heal.” Above a crumbling sea wall at the isolated northern tip of Chappaquiddick Island sits a weathered cottage that gives shelter to Mae Keaney, who returns to the island at the beginning of World War II determined to distance herself from a past filled with pain and regret. Fiercely independent, she defies both the societal conventions of the island and its unforgiving natural world until a catastrophic fire threatens her livelihood, the Boat House Café. After reluctantly accepting help from a Wampanoag tribal member, she forms an uneasy alliance that leads her to an understanding of the wisdom of the “People of the First Light” and restores her faith in herself.