Into the Storm: Inspired by the true story of the Half Moon and her only survivor

ONCE THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT tragedy on the waters of Green Bay, this nearly forgotten story is powerfully retold in Palmer's historical novel, Into the Storm. Set against the backdrop of World War II-era Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, the book recounts the life, struggles, and successes of the prominent shipbuilding family of Leathem D. Smith.

On June 23, 1946, after a spirited regatta in Menominee, Michigan, Smith's sailboat, Half Moon, is caught in a violent storm while crossing the waters of Green Bay toward home. Only his teenage daughter, Patsy, survives-defying nature and all odds. Battling hurricane-force winds, frigid water, and relentless waves, she swims for an astonishing six and a half hours through the darkness to reach safety. Into the Storm is an emotionally powerful narrative of one family's rise and fall, and one young woman's extraordinary will to live.