For many years in Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the coast of North Carolina, whispers circulated about the Marsh Girl.
And when the body of Chase, the local playboy, was found at the end of 1969, the townspeople immediately suspected Kya Clark - the girl who had lived as a recluse in the marsh since early childhood.
Sensitive and intelligent, Kya truly called the marsh her home, with marsh birds and animals as her friends. But then comes the time of growing up, and Kya discovers a whole different side of life, awakening a desire to love and be loved. And Kya happily dives into this unknown new world - until the unthinkable happens.
The novel by renowned biologist Delia Owens is a true ode to nature, a tender coming-of-age story about loneliness, about the connection between people, about whether people really need each other at all.
At the same time, it is a dark, mysterious story involving a murder that may or may not have happened.