WHEN 14-YEAR-OLD BENITA'S Papa is wiped out by the Depression, he moves the family from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to the primitive island of Paita with a wild scheme to start a coconut plantation. Benita moves from a grand house to a shack on the beach, from going to school to working in the fields. But Papa's no farmer, and he makes trouble with the islanders. The only good thing about Paita is the handsome Raul. When he asks her to leave her family to live in the wilderness, Benita runs off with him. The jungle is beautiful, dangerous, and full of secrets, and they must struggle for their survival as they try to build a relationship with each other.

"From the Hardcover edition."