Who is Poddy Green? Not even she knows for sure, as her idyllic, sheltered life has come to a sudden, screeching halt.
She was left as an infant on the Stevenson’s porch - only they were away. Illegally adopted by two women who are now both dead, Poddy is a young woman of twenty-six, and finds herself alone on the houseboat she grew up on. Not docked along a shoreline, but secreted away, deep in the Arcadian forest, in a grove of great white pines.
Yearning to learn of her mother, Poddy finds herself standing at the door of George and Elaine Stevenson. Enchanted by her familiar face, Elaine invites her in. But when Elaine reads the letter written in French and addressed to her, Poddy’s plan unravels.
Back to where she started, she reflects upon the lives of the people who had deeply influenced her. Their stories, and how each of them found their way to the houseboat become her companions, and as the harsh Cape Breton winter approaches, she cherishes them more than ever before. Yet her fears of going insane weigh heavy on her, as the longing for her roots remains. Will she ever find out who her mother is? Or like Alistair, will all that is left of her be the houseboat and the memoirs she leaves behind…