When Gordo O'Connor answers the doorbell one night while he is home alone with his sons, he encounters an angry man who shoots him in the chest. Fortunately he escapes serious injury, but the gunshot begins a chain of events that alters the course of his life forever.
Gordo, his attorney wife, Ana, and their two young boys flee Galveston Island. None of them realizes that they will never again sleep in Pilot House, the graceful Victorian home that they love.
As they try to regain control of their lives, a beach house on the island's far West End becomes a temporary refuge. Gordo is...

James P. Simpson is a gifted storyteller whose life embraced some of the most significant events of the 20th century. He is the last survivor of the small team that investigated and prosecuted the forces of organized crime on Galveston Island 50 years ago. His tales of defeating the Maceo gambling empire, without the assistance of local law enforcement, add a colorful chapter to Texas history. His memories of a Depression-era childhood are full of charming and bittersweet moments.

Some of the most insightful writing about Americas air war in Europe appears in accounts of his 59 bombing...