EGRET begins with a miracle. Hot sauce brings dead birds back to life—and might be able to bring back people, too. In 1896, on a remote and mysterious Louisiana island, characters battle over the future of this magic sauce.

Theodora Moore, a spunky, naive, and hungry female journalist is onto her first big story as she covers the "plume wars" between egret hunters and conversationists. At this time, egret feathers are worth as much as gold, and the birds are swiftly disappearing from the Gulf Coast.

Theodora travels to remote Pickney Island to profile wealthy hot sauce magnate Augie Rosewater and his bird sanctuary. There, she witnesses the egret revivification, and begins to fall in love with Emmanuel Fisk, Augie’s working class right-hand man. When the two men split over the future of the magic elixir, Theodora’s allegiances are tested. She has the power to promote Augie’s vision of progress, or protect the secret sauce from those that would exploit it.

EGRET weaves a thread of the fantastic through the real, surprising history of early conservationists in the Gulf South, following Theodora, Augie, and Fisk through the years as their paths diverge and converge, ultimately culminating in an act of violence.

I am seeking representation for EGRET in early 2024.