Abstract
<p>A seaside Connecticut town falls into economic ruin after a roller coaster disaster leaves twenty-one riders dead. Thirty years later, these same victims emerge from Long Island Sound and play on the beach as if no time has passed. The Riders remain a seasonal ghostly presence at Fourth Street Beach. This radically divides the town, some seeing their return as a sign of the apocalypse, others as a profitable miracle. Marcella Pewter, whose dead child builds sandcastles on the beach, fiercely protects the Riders from any human contact. Meanwhile, Arleigh Daniels, the beach patrol director, must subdue the growing tension between opposing factions. If not, she may lose her job, and the Riders may disappear back into the ocean forever</p>
