"BOCA" by Gary L. Myers
"BOCA" is a story of love, self-sacrifice, tragedy, betrayal, and teens facing and conquering grown-up problems in the turbulent early Seventies. (Spring `72). Set in the fictional South Florida Gold Coast town of "Boca Madre," the story's central plot revolves around a young athlete/surfer/hot-rodder's discovery that his Track coach is part of a drug-smuggling ring. The story's central character is 17 year-old Devon Trent, a tall, athletic track star, surfer, and drag-racer. An aspiring musician and songwriter, Devon is very popular in his Senior year at "Boca Madre' High School."
Devon's revelation about his coach occurs after a late-night drag-race down the coastal road A1A, when his coach's car, crossing A1A, almost runs into Phil Gannon's car, Devon's buddy, mechanic, and fellow racer. Forcing Phil into the curb, bending a rim, Devon and Phil double-back to where they saw Coach "Broadway Bill" Brady entering a deserted beach access road. Approaching the beach on foot at dawn, they see Coach Brady assisting a small boat land and unload. After the boat unloads, there is an altercation between two of the smugglers, with one being shot and killed.
Unbeknownst to the criminals, a young girl, Tracy Harper, a beautiful teenage runaway from San Francisco, is camping nearby on the beach when the fatal shots ring-out. Tracy, along with Devon & Phil, from another vantage point at the beach, witness the fatal shooting. At first, Tracy is the only one the criminals see, and they chase after her. Devon & Phil, in an effort to save the girl, try to find Tracy before the criminals do. Devon does so, and in the process, knocks-out one of the killers in pursuit, and escorts Tracy safely to his car. The two barely escape as the killers fire at Devon's car, and thus, Devon and Tracy's adventure together, begins.
Though Devon Trent is welcomed in the most popular cliques at school, he is sensitive to all, and doesn't flaunt his popularity, intelligence, or good looks. Having lost his mother to cancer only a year before, Devon is still very vulnerable, especially after just breaking up with his longtime, but devious and deceptive girlfriend, Sue Lawton. On the cusp of manhood, Devon is handsome, very boyish-looking, but definitely an "Alpha male" in the making. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Devon is the son of Daniel Trent, a wealthy former automotive executive, who has become an alcoholic after the tragic loss of his wife Elaine, to cancer.
Tracy Harper was a total innocent, until the actions of her stepfather forced her to become a runaway, and create a rift between Tracy and her mother. Tracy is a quintessential "flower child," but who is now both suspicious and apprehensive of love. In each other, Devon and Tracy find their soul-mate, which was hauntingly predicted by Devon's deceased mother in a portrait painted by her seventeen years before, when still pregnant with Devon.
"BOCA" is the story of Devon and Tracy's love for each other that develops after they meet at the beach, and the series of both violent and personal events that threatens to keep them apart. It is not just the story of the love that they share under adversity, but extends to the people around them, and leads to their individual and ultimate personal sacrifices. "BOCA" is also the story of hope and eternal love, which even death cannot extinguish.
