Honolulu, Hawaii and West Palm Beach, Florida – Present Day

Flight attendant Kiahna Siefert can’t shake her fear as she goes about her job welcoming passengers aboard Flight 45 bound for Tokyo, Japan. She's flown this route ever since her son, Max, was born, but for some reason, today feels different. This morning Max begged her to stay home, why didn’t she listen? Kiahna shakes away the gloom, stands up, and proceeds to get the cabin meals ready. Then somehow, there are warning lights flashing, passengers are crying, and someone is screaming. As the plane dives into the ocean, Kiahna prays...

Conner Evans is happy with his life. He has two wonderful daughters, a beautiful wife, and his dream job. An airline pilot, his most recent flights are just short hops in and out of his West Palm Beach hometown, giving him plenty of leisure time to spend with Michele. Life is good, but it wasn’t always this way. There was that rough patch just after Susan was born, when he was stationed in Los Angeles and flights home to Florida were few and far between. But that’s all behind him now, until he receives a telephone call from an attorney in Hawaii.

Max Riley Siefert is seven years old. His dog, Buddy, is his best friend, and his world consists of his elderly babysitter, Ramey, and his mother, Kiahna. But something is wrong. Ramey tells him his Mommy has gone to Heaven. And Mommy even wrote him a letter, telling Max that he should leave Ramey and stay with a friend of Mommy’s for a couple of weeks. Max doesn’t want to stay with anyone, all he wants is to be with his Mommy, even if it’s in Heaven.

One mistake. Conner made one terrible slip-up, and now it’s come back to haunt him. He never knew he had a son; Kiahna never contacted him. Now, her attorney is outlining the terms of her will. The boy, Max Riley, has no other relatives. Only Conner. Kiahna requested that Conner spend two weeks with Max before sending him to Child Services for adoption. Conner can’t walk away. Max is his flesh and blood. But how will he explain all this to Michele?

Little Max and his mother, Kiahna, are more than OCEANS APART in this heart wrenching story of love, devotion, and trust. Max is an exceptional seven-year-old whose strong faith in God is a constant in his young life. When tragedy strikes and the Lord takes his mother home sooner than either of them ever expected, Max soldiers bravely on. Conner Evans is a good man whose one lapse in judgment has cost him unexpected surprises that will change his life. But Conner is afraid of what the change will be when all the pieces fall together. Will Michele accept Max and forgive Conner?

Other secondary characters in the story include: Conner’s young daughters, Elizabeth and Susan; Kiahna's lawyer and old family friend, Marv Ogle; Ramey, the woman who cares for Max; and Max's golden Labrador Retriever, Buddy.

OCEANS APART is an emotionally powerful character study that will both warm and win your heart.

Diana Risso