Mark, a retired boomer with a powerful survivalist streak, manages to avoid contamination from the deadly NOEL virus, released worldwide by terrorists on Christmas Eve. Within 3 days, 99.9% of the world’s population succumbs.
He decides to bug-out in his survival-prepared, live-aboard trawler to Boca Chita Key, an uninhabited island seventeen miles from Miami, where he uses his wits, resilience and mechanical know-how to homestead as a self-sufficient hermit. Access to unlimited fuel will guarantee his freedom to travel, and power the air-conditioning, laundry, hot water heater and freezer. He quickly learns the essential secret of harvesting diesel from marina pumps using his portable Honda generator. In a vastly changed world, Mark faces his first challenging year with only the companionship of a shipwrecked survivor, his dog Shadow.
In his Journal, he reflects on preparing for life aboard, watching the weather, harvesting the gifts of the sea, and nurturing the miracle of a kitchen garden. His encounters with a variety of animals and a handful of survivors succeed with the help of a salvaged Coast Guard Defender Class quick-response boat, a sawed-off 12-gauge pump Decksweeper shotgun, a stun-gun disguised as a camera, and some creative chemistry. He records a prepper's perspective on hot-wiring boats & cars, breaking & entering, false imprisonment and misdemeanor manslaughter. But Mark’s Journal also celebrates the mundane: bicycling, baking bread, doing laundry, and fitting-out, running, and maintaining his boats, island repairs and improvements.
In the months following NOEL, South Florida and the Keys suffer a series of natural catastrophes including a deep freeze, drought, uncontrolled wildfires in the Everglades, two hurricanes, and Lake Okeechobee breaching its dike, inundating South Florida. The first anniversary of the terrorist attack closes with a gathering of a small band of immune survivors, setting the stage for the creation of the community of New Islandia.
Boca Chita tracks a careful and thoughtful man achieving equipoise as custodian of his “green” island hideaway, overcoming isolation, and taking the next steps. It is the first book of the NOEL trilogy, which includes Calusa Coast and The First Coast.