Emerald Tide

Derek Gaines, an art history instructor in the coastal California town of Miramar Bay, is four years into life after losing his wife. He has made a kind of peace with his grief by sticking to a steady routine and keeping other people at a careful distance, since he has decided that surviving alone means not letting anyone close again.

His work as a consultant for auction houses keeps him grounded, and he pursues a demanding side interest in tracking down stolen art. His newest search, however, will confront him with professional and personal challenges he is not ready to face. Joining him is Kelly Reid, the new junior vice president of gallery operations at Christie's Los Angeles. Driven, ambitious, and devoted to her work, she is also wounded in her own way and has no intention of trusting a man's promises again.

Their uneasy working partnership gradually grows into something more, even as both of them remain wary of trust and affection. As they dig into the puzzle of a lost painting, they find that the matters of the heart may be the hardest mystery of all.

The Emerald Tide is a story about the risks that come with love and the chance to try again, set against the world of art, auctions, and intrigue.