Finch prevents a collection of essays that represent nearly fifty years and a cumulative thousand miles of walking along the storied edge of the Cape's legendary arm, the Outer Beach. He considers evidence of nature's fury: shipwrecks, beached whales, towering natural edifices, ferocious seaside blizzards. And he ponders everyday human interactions conducted in its environment with equal curiosity, wit, and insight. Finch pays tribute to the Outer Beach's impressive literary legacy, meditates on its often-tragic history, and explores the strange, mutable nature of time near the ocean.