Four hundred years after the first English colonists struggled to gain a foothold on the coast of North Carolina, British writer Anthony Bailey made a journey along these same barrier islands. In this popular book, highly acclaimed since 1989, he combines keen observations of the Outer Banks' natural splendor with a genuine appreciation of the people who live there.

Whether describing his experience waiting out a hurricane in a Wanchese restaurant, his mosquito-plagued visit to an abandoned village on Portsmouth Island, or his trip to the top of Cape Hatteras lighthouse with a Coast Guard lieutenant, Bailey captures the spirit of a unique and much-loved region, its history, and especially its people.