Saltwater Cowboys

“Assateague belonged to the wild things, and we were the wildest of them all.”

Frances Lunn grew up running free with her brother and sister on Assateague and Chincoteague, islands made famous by wild horses, white-sand beaches, and whispers of lost treasure. It was an idyllic time, until the tragic death of their father shattered their tight family bond.

Years later, she transformed that spirited childhood into a best-selling memoir, which her sister Maeve publicly denounced, calling the story a fabrication and leaving Frances in personal and professional ruin. Now living in Richmond, Frances is trying to rebuild her life when her brother Tommy arrives with a familiar request: come home and finish what their father started—a lifelong, obsessive search for a treasure said to be hidden somewhere deep in the island’s history—the dream he died chasing. For years, Frances has refused Tommy, keeping her distance from Chincoteague, her family, and the grief she never allowed herself to face.

Fueled by the possibility of restoring her reputation—and the relationship with her siblings—Frances returns to the island. There, she is forced to confront the family she abandoned, the love she left behind, and the obsession that consumed her father. Frances quickly gets entangled in the memories she was determined to forget, and the deeper she ventures into the island’s past, the more her family’s own secrets rise to the surface.

Saltwater Cowboys is a sweeping, multi-generational story about the stubborn strength of family bonds, the persistence of grief, and what we owe the people we love.