In The Island Chronicles Book 1, Conscious, Christopher, whose name has been changed to William, is drawn by the music to the mysterious woman, Eleutheria, who lives in the house with the thatched roof overlooking Bourani Cove and the ancient lime kiln which still burns hot for those who know how and where to look. There, she tells him about trapping time in the old tower, inadvertently creating the dragon, and how he must contain the monster while she searches the world for a way to repair what she has done. Having made his choice to believe her, the story continues in book 2, Chopping Water, part mystery, part philosophy, and part historical fiction, in which William tells Lexi the story of how Eleutheria came to America three hundred years ago only to watch her life shattered before sailing halfway around the world to Orcas Island in search of ultimate freedom. Contemporarily on the island, William encounters investors who have come to create a profitable paradise while he continues to struggle with the mystery of Nazdehda Retovna, the woman who rescued him fifty years ago. Now she has apparently reappeared as Julien Darville, debonair dandy and owner of the bookstore. Eventually, William is confronted with an evil that threatens him, his mission, and those he loves. And we learn to what lengths he will go to survive. With the aid of his companions, Winston, the Belgian Malinois, and the playfully dangerous Lexi, William continues his search for the truth. Do we really matter, or are we just characters playing our parts, nothing more and nothing less, than conscious stardust pretending to be free?