A Lemonade Sunset

A Lemonade Sunset is a story of a promising relationship that becomes hopelessly intertwined with a notorious time in U.S. political history.

The protagonist, John Beaumont, is a recent high school graduate living in sunny Santa Clara, California, in 1972. John is calm, affable, and trustworthy. Politically, John believes the ongoing Vietnam War is founded on government lies. This leads him to volunteer for the presidential campaign of Senator George McGovern, who is against the war. Out on the campaign trail, John meets Corrine Stanley. Corrine is a beautiful, intelligent, well-to-do girl John had known from afar in high school. Corrine is campaigning for the re-election of President Richard Nixon.

A lemonade stand is the setting for a chance meeting between the two and the beginning of a relationship that would define a lifetime. By the end of their first conversation, John not only begins to have feelings for Corrine, but senses something traumatic about her. He comes to suspect it has to do with Corrine's internship earlier that summer for the Republican National Committee, and her stay at the Watergate Hotel. The two quickly fall in love, but Corrine is secretive about what troubles her, causing strain in their relationship.