The Mermaid of Black Conch

While fishing off the island of Black Conch in 1976, David encounters a mermaid named Aycayia that takes him by surprise. She was once a stunning young woman who was cursed to spend the rest of her life in this shape by envious wives. However, David saves and conceals the mermaid in his house after she is discovered by American visitors, discovering that she is starting to change back into a woman once she is out of the water.

After decades of isolation, Aycayia is learning how to navigate her new body and her relationships with other people on the island. David must now try to earn her trust as she rediscovers what it means to be human. David and Aycayia balance the pleasures and perils of living on the coast as they come to love one another. Still unanswered is whether the former mermaid would be able to break free from her spell. This legendary journey, which adopts multiple points of view, chronicles the tale of a single woman's survival, recuperation, and return to her native home.