One Summer in Savannah: A Novel

One Summer in Savannah (2023) is Terah Shelton Harris’s debut novel and a contemporary romance. It tells the story of Sara Lancaster’s return to Savannah, Georgia, after eight years living in Maine. Sara left Savannah in the wake of her sexual assault, the resulting trial, and discovering her pregnancy. She raised her daughter, Alana, in secret, far from her rapist’s rich and powerful family. The novel explores themes of The Complex Nature of Forgiveness, The Shifting Definition of Family, and The Impact of Sexual Violence.

This guide refers to the 2023 Sourcebooks Hardcover edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, child death, illness, rape, sexual violence, death by suicide, physical abuse, and sexual content. Moreover, the major romantic relationship is between a survivor of rape and the identical brother of the rapist, which misrepresents the lived experience of many, if not all, survivors of sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Sara Lancaster takes her eight-year-old daughter, Alana, to the beach. Alana is a genius who begs her mother to allow her to participate in the Google Science Contest, which worries Sara because it could lead to Alana’s paternal family discovering her existence and identity. Sara and Alana live in Maine due to the custody laws preventing anyone convicted of a sex crime from petitioning for custody of their children. Alana was born after Daniel Wyler raped Sara in Savannah, Georgia, at a party shortly after they graduated from high school. Daniel was tried and convicted, but his mother did everything in her power to destroy Sara’s credibility, so Sara left as soon as possible to escape the family’s influence. Sara struggles with the conflict of allowing Alana to explore her intellect while keeping her safe from the Wylers. Sara receives a call from Sylvia, her father’s long-time girlfriend, saying that Hosea, her father, is in the hospital following a heart attack. Sara and Alana travel to Savannah for the first time since Alana’s birth to be with Hosea and determine the next steps.

The narrative shifts to Jacob Wyler, Daniel’s identical twin brother. He struggles with the boat he bought to travel to and from the island he inherited when his father, Tom, died by suicide following his grief and shame associated with Daniel’s crime. Jacob has returned to Savannah to confront his family’s past and try to begin healing. Jacob, like Daniel and Alana, is extremely intelligent and has worked as an astrophysicist pursuing answers about the origin and makeup of the aurora borealis. He has traveled around the world, using his research as an excuse to avoid the damage that his family caused Sara. Although he testified against Daniel at the trial, he still carries significant associated guilt. While Jacob was in Alaska, he had a vision of his late sister, Naomi, who died in a car accident, pointing south and saying Sara’s name; this initiated his return to Savannah. On the island, Jacob works to clear brush and rehabilitate the cabin in which he lives. A visit from his mother, Birdie, interrupts his work. She pushes him to visit Daniel in prison, relating all the work that Daniel’s done to make the prison better. Finally, she tells him that Daniel has cancer.

Sara discovers that Hosea, who only speaks in poetry quotations, has had an active brain aneurysm for several years. He did not have a heart attack but a seizure related to the aneurysm. The doctors inform Sara that Hosea likely has months to live and could die at any moment. Sara talks to Sylvia, angry that no one told her earlier. Sylvia explains the flurry of work that Hosea has done to remodel his bookstore. Sylvia encourages Sara to stay in Savannah with Alana to see Hosea through the end of his life. Sara balks, insisting that she and Alana will only stay for a short time and then go back to Maine. Sara goes shopping for pizza night, a Friday tradition, and encounters an acquaintance from high school who embarrasses her by bringing up the trial and accusing Sara of lying. Sara stands her ground, discovering that although the town may not have changed, she has. She tells Sylvia that she can’t stay because she has to keep Alana safe from discovery.

Jacob visits Daniel for the first time since he went to prison eight years prior. Daniel is thinner and visibly sick with cancer. Jacob and Daniel avoid the obvious topic of conversation (Daniel’s crime) and talk instead about Birdie, Jacob’s research, and Daniel’s work in the prison. Jacob eventually discovers that Daniel has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Jacob leaves the prison, conflicted and struggling with his hatred for his brother’s actions while still recognizing the bond they’ve shared since birth.

Sara allows Sylvia to take Alana to a museum in a nearby town with a summer camp that Sylvia oversees. Jacob coincidentally visits the museum at the same time, and Alana approaches him to point out an error in the mathematics exhibit. Alana charms Jacob, and he is struck by how much she resembles Naomi, who died at 15.

When Hosea’s bookstore has its grand opening, Sara meets Jacob. Before she recognizes him, they flirt and discuss their shared love of the poet E. E. Cummings. However, when she sees him without his hat, she recognizes him and insists that he leave the store. Sara almost leaves Savannah but instead offers Jacob a deal: He can tutor Alana and have a relationship with her if he never tells Daniel or Birdie about her existence.

Jacob begins spending time with Alana and the other members of her family. He also moves forward with preparations to donate his bone marrow to Daniel. The medication causes a significant side effect, and Sara spends the night at his cabin caring for him. Sara and Jacob grow closer, and she learns about Daniel’s cancer.

After he recovers, Jacob continues to get closer to Sara and Alana. They work together to plan a garden, and he attends a movie night at their house. He then takes the family to an island owned by his family, and Sara meets Marsha, the long-time housekeeper and family friend of the Wylers. She agrees to keep Alana’s identity secret from Birdie and Daniel, but the conflict between the safety of secrecy and the need to tell Alana the truth about her father intensifies for both Jacob and Sara.

Daniel’s infection prevents the bone marrow transplant, and it becomes clear that he’s likely to die soon. Jacob tells Sara after she receives notice that Daniel is going to be released. Jacob tries to convince Sara to tell the truth about Alana, but she balks, insisting that she can’t take another trial. Jacob has a confrontation with his brother and then with his mother about Sara and the rape. He takes some time away from the Lancasters to think about what to do next.

Birdie confronts Sara at the bookstore on the same day that Daniel gives a television interview in which he admits that he raped Sara on national television. Sara stands her ground and refuses to allow Birdie to bother her. That evening, kids throw rocks and bricks through shop windows, including the bookstore, terrifying Sara and Alana. Jacob comes immediately to help Sara. After he brings Sara and Alan home safely, he and Sara have sex.

The next day, Jacob goes to see Daniel in prison. Daniel’s health is declining quickly, and Jacob tells Daniel about Alana, breaking his promise to Sara. When he tells her later that day, she feels betrayed and makes him leave. The next day, Jacob picks Daniel up from prison. They go to Jacob’s cottage and talk all night about the past, Alana, and Daniel’s wishes regarding her. Daniel says that Sara was right to hide Alana and asks Jacob to make sure that Alana knows the whole truth, is protected and loved, and lives a balanced life.

The next day, Hosea has a seizure and is hospitalized. Daniel collapses while getting out of Jacob’s car and is also rushed to the hospital.

Hosea is weak but able to return home in a few days. Jacob goes to Sara in the hospital, and she forgives him for telling Daniel. He tells her that Daniel is several floors up and dying. They profess their love for each other, and Jacob goes back to Daniel. Daniel tells Birdie that he raped Sara and that Alana is the proof. She insists on meeting Alana, but Jacob refuses, given her cruelty toward Sara. Birdie storms out, running into Alana outside the door.

Sara decides to let Alana meet Daniel to give her daughter closure. Birdie apologizes to Sara, and Sara forgives her, understanding that a mother might do anything to protect her child. Alana meets Daniel while Sara watches with Jacob in the hallway. Sara and Jacob both have visions of their future, happily raising their children in love, healed of the trauma and pain of the past.