The Day the Falls Stood Still - Couverture souple

Niagara Falls, 1915

I have stood at the brink of t he falls, that thin line that separates eternity from time

Seventeen-year-old Bess has led a privileged existence. But when she arrives home after her graduation, nothing is as she had left it. Her father has lost his job, her mother is reduced to sewing for the society ladies she once entertained, and Isabel, her vivacious older sister, is a shadow of her former self.

The night of her return, Bess meets Tom Cole. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him, despite her family's objections. He is not from their world. He is a riverman and his fearless rescues at the falls render him a local hero. As their lives become entwined, Bess is forced to make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family...

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of Niagara Falls, at a time when daredevils shot the river rapids in barrels and fortunes were made and lost as quickly as lives disappeared, The Day the Falls Stood Still is an intoxicating novel, as powerful as the falls themselves.

"A wonderful love story . . . Buchanan weaves Niagara Falls' history and her storytelling together masterfully."
-- Elle

1915. Niagara Falls. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath, who has led a sheltered existence as the younger daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company, meets Tom Cole by chance on a trolley platform and finds herself inexplicably drawn to him--against her family's strong objections. Tom is not from their world. Rough-hewn and fearless, he lives off what the river provides and has an uncanny ability to predict the whims of the falls. His daring river rescues render him a local hero and cast him as a threat to the power companies who seek to harness the power of the falls for themselves. As the paths of Bess and Tom become entwined, Bess must make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family and her future.