About the book: 1990 / The Ocean Street Motel in Floral Beach, California, was, oddly enough, on Ocean Street, a stone's throw from the wall that goes down to three meters down to the ocean. The beach is a beige strip, trampled with footprints that are washed away every day by the high tide. The public can get there by walking down a concrete staircase with metal railings. A wooden fishing pier jutting out into the water is topped at the near end by the harbor management office, which is painted a poisonous blue. Seventeen years ago, Jean Timberlake's body was found at the foot of the wall, but the place is not visible from where I stood. Then Bailey Fowler, her ex-boyfriend, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Then he changed his mind.