**Peter Benchley’s fascination with the sea and its magnificent inhabitants inspired such classic novels as *Jaws* and *The Deep*, making him the preeminent author of ocean adventure and suspense. *The* *Girl of the Sea of Cortez* was his most heartfelt, cherished story of the relationship between man and the sea, both those that live in it and those who love it.  **
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On an island in the Gulf of California, an intrepid young woman named Paloma carries a special legacy from her father—a deep understanding of the sea and a sixth sense about the need to protect it.

Every day, Paloma paddles her tiny boat into the ocean and anchors over a seamount—a submerged volcanic peak sixty feet underwater that is clustered with spectacular sea animals and a wondrous web of marine life.

It is there that an astonishing event takes place, when on one of her dives Paloma is shadowed by a manta ray—an animal so large it blocks the sun. She develops an extraordinary relationship with this luminous, gentle creature, but instinctively knows its existence is a secret she must fiercely protect.

Benchley’s novel paints a poignant picture of humanity’s precarious relationship with the ocean, which unfolds alongside a heartrending story of familial bonds, often revealing that the ignorance of man is far more dangerous than the sea. Full of beauty, danger, and adventure, *The Girl of the Sea of Cortez* is triumphant—a novel to fall in love with.

**Praise for *The Girl of the Sea of Cortez***
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“It’s hard not to compare Benchley’s tale . . . with Hemingway’s classic *The Old Man and the Sea*.”—*The Christian Science Monitor*
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“Charming.”—*The New York Times Book Review*

“For a hot summer’s day, *The Girl of the Sea of Cortez* is the next best thing to looking through a clear face mask into blue water swimming with fish.”—United Press International

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