"The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has ordered Salt Cove to replace its signature wooden bridge with a concrete monstrosity. The authorities are unreasoning and unyielding. The village decides to secede. Jessica Stoddard is a quirky seventy-two-year-old who is determined to keep a record of the event for posterity. She has a passion for the truth, but her account is not entirely reliable, because she also has a passion for the rebellion's ringleader, who is barely half her age." "Toby Auberon is a former lawyer who dropped out of the system. He has returned after years in Rio to perfect his mysterious invention in the solitude of the lighthouse. He is drawn, unwillingly, into the dispute when the bureaucracy switches tactics from bullying to armed occupation."--BOOK JACKET.