Children of Shadows

Mystical Twilight Pinckney, a young Gullah nanny, raises a white boy on a remote South Carolina sea island. She recognizes and nurtures his artistic ability, and later Cooper Hamilton goes on to become a success in the big leagues of advertising. His talent earns him wealth but not without a price. He suffers burnout from his demanding career, and his intemperate lifestyle leads him on the path to self-destruction. After barely surviving a drunken wreck he returns to his sea island roots where life has changed little since Reconstruction.

Reunited with his extended family and Twilight, Cooper struggles to rebuild his body and conquer his demons. His catharsis sparks creative awakening, and his work takes on renewed vitality. The quintessential beauty of the Lowcountry guides his hand as he captures it on canvas. Cooper’s seductive and critically acclaimed paintings find ready markets at major galleries across the southeast. By chance he reconnects with Kathleen, his first love, and the two embark on a new beginning on Spanish Island when they are caught up in a sinister plot.

A lawless attorney and his lackeys are preying on black owners of suddenly valuable “heirs’ property” handed down by their forebears who died intestate. Once considered all but worthless, land on the sea islands is now in great demand because of rampant development. Many people are dispossessed from the only homes they have ever known by fraud, intimidation and even murder. When the situation threatens Twilight, Cooper must step in to protect her.

Together with a friend Simon Albury, an itinerant Bahamian fisherman, Cooper is drawn into a deadly confrontation with Sonny Fletcher, his life-long nemesis, who is now a corrupt deputy sheriff and a major player in the scheme. Just when it seems that Fletcher has the upper hand Twilight invokes the Spirits, but her act leads to tragic consequences.