Book excerpt: During a reckless summer, Barry Tate makes a life-altering decision. Afraid of commitment, and seduced by a woman out of his fantasies, Barry runs away from college and away from his one true love for the fast life of the New Jersey Shore. Not until several years later, when Barry has become a victim of the lifestyle he once pursued, does he realize that he has possibly lost his dreams for good. Then, one day, he hears a song on the radio. It is a summer song, an innocent reminder of a better time, and the inspiring key to re-discovering the one woman he can never stop loving. During one summer quarter at The Ohio State University, Barry Tate unexpectedly meets Karen Lucas, a sensitive, artistic woman. Together they share the kind of love that touches souls. It is the kind of love that others envy and the kind that can survive hardship and can endure the test of time. However, it is also the kind of love that young people question and all too often toss aside without really giving it a chance. Karen and Barry are a perfect match until Barry struggles to discover his identity. He leaves school on a soul-searching journey to the Jersey Shore. Barry wants to become an East Coast disc jockey, and he is lured to the Shore by its mesmerizing surf and by its constant party atmosphere. Making the transition from college student to the real world isnt easy for Barry as he soon falls into a reckless lifestyle, highlighted by his involvement with the seductive and temperamental Eva Fiorelli, a self-centered woman with the endless ability for manipulation. Eva controls Barry physically and emotionally until she becomes more of an addiction than a lover. Her family has suspicious connections, and Evas father introduces Barry to Sal Berdoni, an imposing, wealthy man, who owns several businesses, including a couple radio stations. And all is well once Barry is hired at WTRX, one of Berdonis stations, as a disc jockey. For Barry, he is living his dream that he has had since childhood. This is not so for Eva. Greedy and unconcerned about Barrys feelings, Eva is not impressed by a disc jockeys low salary, so she convinces Barry to make some extra money somehow. Barry is then hired by Berdoni to be a courier for one of his other businesses. His job is to deliver special packages to exclusive and secretive clients. During one such delivery, however, Barry discovers the packages contain cocaine. When he tells Eva about the drugs, she is enthralled instead of frightened as Barry is. She convinces Barry that he needs to try cocaine before he fears it. So, Barry steals some coke from his next delivery. Unfortunately, Berdoni realizes Barrys theft and sends some tough men out to make an example of him. These men negotiate better with their fists than their mouths, and they give Barry a mild beating to deliver the point that he shouldnt steal from Mr. Berdoni. But they then toss him a small package of cocaine before they leave as a token from Mr. Berdoni. Barry gets back into his truck and pulls away. His nose is bleeding from being smacked around and his mind is reeling with thoughts about the cocaine, Mr. Berdoni, and Eva. He doesnt realize that he has just run a stop sign right in front of a police car. The officer pulls Barry over for the routine traffic violation, but becomes aware of Barrys suspicious behavior and accidentally discovers the cocaine in Barrys truck. Now, Barry, who has run away from everything good in his life, finds he can no longer run. He goes to jail, and he loses Eva, his friends, and the support of his family. Once Barry is finally released, he is still without friends, without dreams, and still searching for his identity until a trusted old man, Mr. Zeppo, gives Barry a second chance. Mr. Zeppo owns a quaint, but popular little pizza joint on the boardwalk, and he hires Barry to manage it. Flipping pizzas to pay the rent is not the lifestyle Barry was once used