Whenever I visit Wellington, I walk along Oriental Parade and stop at the old band rotunda from where I can see Hay Street and the gracious villas which have stood the test of time. I watch the people enjoying the beautiful beach, such a short walk from the city, and imagine my great grand father, Francis Stevens, and his wife Ellen, sitting outside their property collecting signatures which saved the beach from becoming a boat slip. New Zealand was a vibrant, changing country in the late 1800s, and the story of the Stevens family is typical of life in the colony during those years. The major events in this story are based on true facts, but the the day to day lives the characters come from the writer’s imagination.