Bailey Jones has always been a misfit in a town that sets a lot of store on family lineage, old money and homes that overlook the Chesapeake. As he makes plans to finally quit Marshycreek two pieces of new arrive. A body is discovered (which many of the town's residents wish had stayed hidden). The second piece of news sends a shiver down Bailey's back -- a not unpleasant experience -- because it is about his ex-love reappearing in town. As the gossip mill kicks into overdrive, multiple tensions rise in the community. Clearly it will be a long, hot summer of multiple passions, too. "Chesapeake Summer" may be thoroughly enjoyed on its own bountiful merits, but it can also be read as the sultry sequel to "Chesapeake Tide", that marvelous novel which first took place in Marshyhope Creek.