"Since the death of her husband, life has been a constant struggle for Katherine Dunne and her children. What better way to bring them all together again than a fabulous sailing vacation? But only an hour out of port, everything is going wrong. Katherine's teenage daughter, Carrie, is planning to drown herself; her teenage son, Mark, is high on drugs; and 10-year-old Ernie is nearly catatonic, claiming this is the worst vacation ever. Katherine manages to pull things together bit by bit, but just as they begin feeling like a family again, something catastrophic happens--and survival becomes the least of their concerns"--Dust jacket.