title: Saving Grace
author: Machray, Sally
description: At 28, life for Kris Barrington seems to have no purpose. Emerging from an all time low, he grabs an opportunity for a new start in Jamaica; only he needs to sail there. In a storm, his steering fails and he is nearly shipwrecked. Stranded on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia until his yacht can be repaired, he gets bad news from Hank the ‘nuggety’ Australian. The slipway is out of action. Whiling away time in the market, Kris intends buying suckling pig for dinner, but leaves with the runt of the litter alive and needing to be fattened up! Being resourceful, he decides to give her to the attractive barmaid Claudette who has caught his eye. A French suitor bought her flowers, surely a live suckling pig would steal the show? But in doing so he makes a deadly enemy in Jean Luc. The Frenchman has plans for waterfront land on which to build a sail loft. But, for that to happen, Jean Luc needs a citizen as a partner, and he had already registered his bid in Claudette's name. When a hurricane bares down on the island, Jean Luc sees an opportunity to get rid of his rival! Broko the night watchman, has good reason to hate ‘whities’ as one such tourist left him crippled in a hit and run, but when the hurricane approaches, Broko needs help moving his mother. Kris, moored in a dangerous spot, is strong, available and the owner of a fine-looking pig, so Broko enlists the yachtsman's help. Thus, Kris is adopted into the community. Broko emerges from being a recluse to natural leader and dispatches Kris and Claudette off to sail an injured man to hospital. Kris fumbles when love gets in the way of passion, but things are going well for the lovers until their return to Nelson Bay. Claudette was right to be wary of the good-looking yachtsman who bowled into the Rusty Nail. Having been hurt by men in the past, she doesn't want all that heart-ache again. Kris seemed different, but, returning from St. Georges her world is once more turned upside down by trusting a man. Kris’s saving grace is that he does try to save Grace, but can he win back Claudette’s trust? Set in the Caribbean, this action-packed adventure includes quirky, feel-good characters, an insight into the world of sailing and the fate of a small piglet.