Edge of Dark Water

Four teenage friends—May Lynn, Sue Ellen, Terry, and Jinx—have grown up in East Texas near the dark, snake-infested Sabine River during the Depression years of the 1930s. Only the beautiful May Lynn has thought much about the future, and her plans to run away to Hollywood die with her at the bottom of the Sabine River. Determined that May Lynn will achieve her dream, the three friends steal and cremate her body, nab money and a raft, and set out, with Sue Ellen's mother and May Lynn's remains, down the river to Gladewater, where they can catch a bus to Hollywood. Like Huck Finn, each time they leave the river, the friends experience tragedy. As they are pursued by the sheriff and Sue Ellen's uncle, who hope to reclaim the money for themselves, stalked by a crazy swamp man with intent to kill, and held hostage by an old woman, the incidents test the friends' courage and determination and teach them lessons about life and survival.