Simon

Simon Watson is a male born to a traditionally female line of family. Like the women in his family, Simon has the ability to hold his breath underwater for great lengths of time--up to ten minutes--and is a natural swimmer. A librarian, Simon lives in the family home left to him by his parents, on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. The house has fallen into disrepair, which Simon knows, though he has neither the money nor the skill to fix it. Early on in the book, Simon loses his job and is left adrift, not certain what to do with his life.

Simon has long had a crush on the girl next door, Alice McAvoy, whose parents helped to raise him after his own parents died, and who have been like family to him. Perhaps because of this, Simon has never pursued anything with Alice...