An Ocean of Minutes

Set in an alternate version of 1981 when the world was overtaken by a viral flu pandemic and time travel was made possible shortly thereafter, the novel follows a young American couple, Polly and Frank, who are forced to separate when one is infected with the flu and the other travels into the future.

[1] In 1981, Polly Nader and her boyfriend Frank Marino were on vacation when a devastating flu pandemic was grinding the world to a halt.

Initially created in an attempt to stop the pandemic, the time travel falls short of reaching patient zero by a matter of months.

During their time together, Polly tries to befriend him for information, eventually agreeing to steal a package containing his boyfriend's high school yearbook, valuable to TimeRaiser because his boyfriend went to school with Elvis Presley, in exchange for Baird going to Polly's meet up point with Frank.

Noberto then attempts to rape Polly, hoping to impregnate her, but she can fend him off by hitting him over the head with a lamp.

Believing she has killed him, Polly is wracked with guilt, but eventually, she learns Noberto is alive when she discovers that, using funds from the sale of his house, he has paid her way out of bondage and bought her a ticket to the U.S. to atone for his attempted rape.

Using the address Noberto gave her, she finally meets Frank but learns almost immediately that he did not wait for her and has a 14-year-old daughter.

To Polly's relief, her aunt Donna is still alive and well-looked after, thanks to Frank, who has become rich from his ex-wife's money.

On January 1, 2000, early in the morning, Polly goes to walk Donna's dog and runs into Frank, who admits he has been avoiding her out of guilt and shame.