Two tales of love and death set in the Bayou State from author Sam Irwin. A Mississippi spinster writes a note to an "Unknown Gentleman" and casts it into the Mississippi River. A Mediterranean immigrant oysterman finds the bottle on the Gulf shore. Separated by hundreds of miles of river and two states, how will the two lonely hearts ever meet? You'll love the romantic ending of "Message in an Oystershell." "An Ugly Day" explores the touching relationship of a young boy and his Cajun grandfather. When Johnny Boy is left to spend the summer with his grandparents in rural Louisiana for the summer he develops a deep relationship with his Poppa and a quarterhorse named Hazel.