High Season

Wide-ranging yet richly detailed, this exuberant novel looks to the future of one small island, yet also dives deep into its history . . .

The beautiful, sun-soaked South Atlantic island of Tuga de Oro is home to a close-knit community; from vet Charlotte to conscientious doctor Dan and Grand Mary, about to notch up a century. But the island is having to face up to reality. Its anonymous donor’s money has dried up, the health clinic is crumbling and the roads, which may seem charming when travelled by donkey, are in fact in a very bad way.

The solution to this lack of income: a series of cruise ships each bringing 200 tourists, is not universally popular among the islanders. Into this changing landscape arrives Alex dos Santos, the boy who left Tuga as a child. The rift between him and his oldest friend, Annie, runs deep -- and leaves their families as worried as ever.

Vast, sweeping, and intricately plotted, Segal holds the present and the past of her joyfully imagined world in superb balance. Spanning past and present, from Grand Mary’s youthful romance with a pirate to the truth behind the extinction of the Tugan blue conch, HIGH SEASON shows that secrets can lie concealed for generations, even on an island as small as the legendary Tuga de Oro...

‘A cast of characters who are endearing, maddening and altogether human. I loved it! The very lushness of the magical setting is also a thrill’ ELIZABETH STROUT

© Francesca Segal 2027 (P) Penguin Audio 2027