It's 1938. The carnival has come to town?and a deadly hurricane is closing in. As floodwaters rise and violent winds tear through the tight-knit Lake community of Newton, fear and suspicion spread just as quickly as the storm itself.
Michael Flannigan, the eldest son of a proud Irish family, finds himself torn between duty and desire when he falls for Katya, a beautiful Russian fortune teller traveling with the carnival. But winning her heart means facing the fierce disapproval of both his family and her stubborn father, Boris Koslov.
Meanwhile, Michael's loyal friend Tony Pellegrino has fallen for Michael's sister, Ellen. To the Flannigans, Tony's carnival ties and questionable reputation make him the last man they would ever accept into their family.
Then tragedy strikes. Local boy Johnny Russo is discovered dead in Silver Lake, and suspicion quickly falls on the carnival workers. As police hunt for a killer hiding among the chaos, the storm bears down with unstoppable fury. With the roads disappearing beneath floodwaters and the winds growing stronger by the hour, escaping justice?and Mother Nature?may be impossible.
Long after the carnival packs up and moves on, the Lake neighborhood of Newton will never be the same. From those turbulent days came a unique language and culture born from carnival life?phrases and traditions proudly passed down through generations and still spoken today.
