Tova Sullivan spends her nights cleaning the Sowell Bay Aquarium, keeping busy after the death of her husband and the disappearance of her son many years earlier. There she encounters Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus with a keen eye for the people around him.

Their unlikely friendship opens a path towards answers Tova has long lived without. Shelby Van Pelt’s novel brings together a mystery, a small community and the possibility of finding new connections later in life.