How cruel a beautiful day is for the unfortunate few suddenly plucked from their mundane existence, she thought. The rest of the world goes about its business, the more fortunate unwittingly mocking their fellow travelers, unaware of how grateful they should be for their traffic jams, quarreling kids, the dress that’s too tight, the annoying talking heads on the morning news. Go ahead. Offer up your prayers for protection, and throw in a “thank you” to purchase a little extra insurance for your loved ones. Perhaps today will not be your day. But my day is every day.

God had given Joanna a special gift, or burden. She’d lived with it for as long as she could remember. She knew things and saw things that did not make sense to those who lived in what she called “the natural.” But now it was time to get to work. She usually felt an odd peace right at the beginning, but there was something about this time that just didn’t seem right. She waited. Then the reflection in the window came into focus. She nodded and said, “Okay, now I’m ready.”

CHAPTER 1

Out of the Blue

Life changes in an instant.
The ordinary instant.
—Joan Didion

PARADISE ON EARTH has a name: Sorrento, Italy. That’s what Tony Turner said to himself as he breathed in the warm, salty air and gazed at the deep-blue water lapping into the Bay of Naples. He’d been humming that catchy melody to the famous Dean Martin song since he woke up that morning, and it wasn’t about to stop playing in his head.

Though he’d slept through what was reputed to be a spectacular sunrise, he was planning to catch that evening’s sunset—that is, if he wasn’t napping after a day that would include a visit to Pompeii and perhaps a side trip to Mount Vesuvius. Then he and Emily had reservations for a late dinner at Don Pedro, arguably the best restaurant in all of Sorrento. For now, he was content to sit on the veranda, sip his first cup of coffee, kick back, and try his best to forget about business for a week.

It wasn’t an easy sell, but he’d convinced Emily to leave the kids with her parents, get away, and take some time alone, together, for the first time in a long time. They had even made a pact: Emily would try not to worry about the kids if Tony wouldn’t talk about work—and so far they had pretty much stuck to it. The deal was cinched when Tony had agreed to unplug from all the devices to which he was addicted once he stepped on the plane at Hopkins.