In 1916, Emma OโNeill is frozen in time. After sampling an experimental polio vaccine brewed on a remote island off St. Augustine, Florida, she and her family stop agingโas do the Ryans, her familyโs business partners. In a way, this suits Emma fine because sheโs in love with Charlie Ryan. Being seventeen forever with him is a dream. But soon a group of religious fanatics, the Church of Light, takes note. Drinking the elixir has made the OโNeills and Ryans impervious to aging, but not to murderโEmma and Charlie are the only ones who escape with their lives.
On the run, Emma is tragically separated from Charlie. For the next hundred years, she plays a cat-and-mouse game with the founding members of the Church of Light and their descendants. Over the years, a series of murdersโwhose victims all bear more than a passing resemblance to herโindicate that her enemies are closing in. Yet as the danger grows, so does Emmaโs hope for finding the boy sheโs certain is still out there . . .