Mark Halstead's sailboat "Starfish" was set adrift after nearly being destroyed by a freak storm about one thousand miles southwest of Ireland. Communications, navigation, and propulsion were all gone and Jim spent most of his time scanning the horizon for a passing ship.
Fortunately, he had enough fresh water and food to last a while, but time was running out. Twenty days after the storm, Mark was elated to spot a small island in the distance.
A steady current pulled the crippled ship to the outskirts of the island. Mark tossed the anchor over the side and then rowed his dinghy to the shore.
As soon as he set foot on the beach, a young woman rushed across the sand and embraced him. "Richard, you've come home" she said through her tears. Mark was about to correct her but decided to wait until he found out what was going on.
The young woman whose name turned out to be Barbara, led Mark to small cottage about a half-mile inland. Barbara chattered non-stop while Mark looked for a phone or some sort of radio. He soon learned that a storm had wrecked the island's radio tower.
Barbara made a large dinner and while they were eating Mark learned that Barbara was the only permanent resident of the island. Mark also noticed a slight change in Barbara's demeanor and he wondered what had happened to the actual "Richard."
As Barabara was cleaning the table her tone became even more accusatory and Mark knew he had to get out of there. When Barbara took the table scraps out to her livestock, Mark sprinted out the door and headed for the beach.
He speedily rowed his dinghy out to the Starfish and pulled up the anchor. The sailboat caught ahold of the outgoing current and headed out to sea.
In the distance, he could see Barbara with a rifle angrily kicking the sand.