The Light Remains - by Samantha Keller (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Against the backdrop of complicated, beautiful South Africa in the 1960s, an epic family saga unfolds.

Eve Hunter has grown up on her family's dairy farm in the Lowveld, but she's inherited more than just a love of the land--she's inherited their sorrow. When her father is electrocuted while building a barn, the tragedy exposes the dark secret that has run beneath her family's sadness for years. Eve turns to Jack, her closest friend and neighbor, for comfort.

But Jack belongs to Kate, her older sister, at least that's what their families have always assumed. As Eve and Jack's bond deepens into something more charged, Eve faces an impossible choice to either honor her family's expectations or to follow her heart and risk everything.

Then Kate comes to her with a devastating request that could change everything between them.

The Light Remains is a story about the weight of family loyalty, the price of independence, and the choices that define us when duty and desire collide.

About the Author

Samantha Keller grew up in South Africa, and after a decade in London, moved to Connecticut, where she completed her MFA at Fairfield University. The Light Remains is Sam's first novel, and it received an honorary mention by the Fairfield Book Prize. Sam's short fiction won the Anthony Grooms Prize and appeared in The Connecticut Literary Anthology, 2024. Her work has been a Narrative Story of the Week, a contest finalist in American Short Fiction's Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize, and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. Sam's first children's picture book, Are You An Alien?, illustrated by her mother, was published in the UK in 2025. Sam is a developmental editor and teaches creative writing. She still lives in Connecticut, US with her husband Grant and children Thomas and Chloe.