On his nineteenth birthday in an English seaside town, Duncan Blaine gets a clue to the whereabouts of his mother, Diana, who, nine years earlier, left him to be raised by relatives when a tragic accident took the life of her husband. When he meets her Duncan is also introduced to the new man in her life, a cardiac surgeon with whom she intends to live in Canada. Distraught at the prospect of yet another separation, Duncan attempts to reconcile with his mother while conducting a passionate affair with an employee of the inn where he is staying. A compelling coming-of-age tale, in which Benson employs surfing as a metaphor, adding graceful comic details and a series of charming secondary characters, Riptide is an intense, even transcendent examination of a young man's struggle to establish his identity while facing the loss of both parents.