Ellie Brinkley is a blocked novelist searching for that missing spark to snap her out of the doldrums. Enter Max Turkel, an irresistible young chimney sweep who lures Ellie to her rooftop and quickly sweeps her off her feet. The two soon embark on a playfully romantic adventure filled with an abundance of sex and sailing.

Sailing becomes Ellie's raison d'etre, the very muse that she was seeking. She scrapes together enough cash to buy a boat and decides to make sailing the subject of her second novel. But instead of the ideal shipmate she had hoped for, Max proves to be an unreliable free spirit who drops in and out of Ellie's life as he pleases. And when he accidentally discovers Ellie's dark side, Max drops out of her life for good.

In the end, Ellie finally confronts the painful truths about her father, her daughter, and her ex-husband - and finds herself free to move on. Pumpkin Moon is a richly drawn tale of romance, suspense, and self-discovery, a loving homage to Moby Dick, and a compelling adult fiction debut.