Popis knihy

Pearl Carlson, born and living in the West Indies, is being sexually abused by her father, Curtis Carlson. In the West Indies, prior to the mid 1900's, sexual abuse of children by their parents was kept hidden. It was seldom discussed or acknowledged and prosecution of perpetuators was unheard of. A child reporting sexual abuse by a parent would seldom be taken seriously. The child would be accused of lying and would be punished. Curtis was born in 1940 in a small village on the island of Dominica in the West Indies. Always a loner, Curtis had no friends, until he met Aileen. Aileen was on the prowl for a husband, and when Curtis lost his job, he became easy prey for Aileen. After seducing and tricking him into marrying her, Aileen gave birth to their daughter, Pearl. Curtis resented his wife and found her repulsive. He refused to engage in sexual relations with her. Instead, he found sexual gratification by molesting his daughter thereby continuing the cycle of child abuse. As a child, Curtis had been sexually and physically abused by his father, and at the age of ten, Curtis killed his father. One day, Aileen discovered Curtis molesting his child. She threatened to leave with the child. To avoid this, Curtis killed Aileen and relocated to Guadeloupe with Pearl. On Pearl's sixteenth birthday, Curtis came home to find Pearl and her classmate and admirer, Francois in a passionate embrace. Curtis asked Francois to leave. Curtis followed and brutally attacked Francois on an unlit road. Curtis relocated to St. Maarten with Pearl where he changed his name to Nigel Bray in order to impersonate a wealthy man's grandson. After being named heir to the wealthy man's fortune, Curtis relocated to St. Croix with Pearl, where they met Ken Winston