Swan Song

Swan Song (2024), by popular American writer Elin Hilderbrand, which takes place over one summer in the rarified environs of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, follow what happens when a wealthy and flamboyant new couple comes to town and causes chaos and scandal in the community. The book explores themes of class and status, self-reinvention, and relationships and betrayal.

Hilderbrand is the author of numerous books, including The Perfect Couple (2018), which has been adapted into a Netflix series. Her books have all been set on Nantucket, including The Hotel Nantucket (2022) and The Five-Star Weekend (2023). Swan Song is the last of Hilderbrand’s Nantucket novels.

This guide is based on the 2024 Holder & Stoughton, Kindle Edition.

Content Warning: The source text discusses miscarriage and the death of an infant.

Plot Summary

Nantucket chief of police Ed Kapenash enjoys his retirement dinner with a small group of friends and family. He has decided to retire after having had a massive heart attack earlier that year. The dinner is interrupted by news of a house burning down on the island. The house belongs to Bull and Leslee Richardson, who are out on their yacht throwing a party; their personal concierge, Colleen “Coco” Coyle, is missing. The narrative follows two timeframes: the investigation into the fire in the present, and the summer after the Richardsons arrived on Nantucket.

The Richardsons first meet Coco in the Virgin Islands, where she is working at a bar. Coco overhears that, among other things, Bull produces films. Having written a screenplay based on her life that she hopes to get made, Coco tells the couple she is also headed to Nantucket and manages to secure a job as their personal concierge.

The Richardsons close on a house that needs renovations, which makes Coco panic about where to stay in the meantime. On the ferry, Coco meets Kacy Kapenash, Ed’s daughter, who invites her to stay with the Kapenashes until her job begins.

Andrea, Kacy’s mother, invites couples Phoebe and Addison Wheeler and Delilah and Jeffrey Drake over for dinner. Addison was the Richardsons’ realtor; the group discusses the outrageous amount the Richardsons paid for their house, “Triple Eight,” which is on compromised beach property. Phoebe, who is on the membership committee of the prestigious Field and Oar Club, adds that Leslee Richardson wants to become a club member.

The Richardsons frequent all the popular upscale establishments around town and introduce themselves to everyone important.

Kacy takes Coco around Nantucket. On a beach picnic, they bump into Lamont Oakley, a handsome young Nantucketer who has been hired by the Richardsons to sail their new yacht, Hedonism. Coco is instantly attracted to Lamont.

At lunch at the Field and Oar, Delilah is upset to learn that Phoebe has written Leslee a letter of recommendation for membership—Delilah and Jeffrey have been trying and failing to become members for years. Leslee also becomes a regular fourth at the women’s pickleball sessions, partnering with Phoebe, and consistently cheating.

Coco’s first task is to hand-deliver 100 invitations to the Richardsons’ first party. When she runs into Lamont, he pretends not to know her because Leslee has a rule that household staff are not allowed to date each other. Curious and intrigued, all the invited guests attend the party, an extravagant and wild affair that is a resounding success and makes the Richardsons extremely popular around town. However, Delilah leaves early, jealous of Phoebe’s new closeness to Leslee. After the party, Coco convinces Lamont to take her out on the Richardsons’ motorboat, Decadence. At a picnic on Whale Island in Tuckernuck, they kiss but are interrupted by the arrival of Kacy, her brother Eric, and others. Lamont heads back, worried the Richardsons will find out. Unable to deny their mutual attraction, Coco and Lamont begin a relationship in secret.

Coco asks Kacy to read her screenplay; Kacy assures Coco it is excellent. Emboldened, Coco gives it to Bull, who commends Coco on her writing, but refuses to send it to producers or produce it himself, claiming the story is too small and will never sell. The Richardsons more lavish parties, with increasingly exclusive guest lists. Leslee promises money to a number of different causes important to people on the Field and Oar membership committee, but the money never comes through. Additionally, people notice Leslee behaving inappropriately—flirting and getting touchy with other men, including Lamont. At one of the Richardsons’ more intimate parties, Leslee comes on to Ed, who leaves the party in a rush.

Following this, the Richardsons’ popularity plummets. Their petition for membership at the Field and Oar is rejected, with even Phoebe voting against. They are also not invited to Ed’s retirement dinner, so Leslee decides to throw a sunset sail on the yacht on the same evening. Leslee also confides in Coco that Bull is in financial trouble with the IRS for millions in unpaid taxes. Bull’s beverage distribution company is headquartered in Indonesia, but new environmental regulations are preventing him from continuing work there.

Before the sail, Leslee unexpectedly turns up at Coco’s apartment while Lamont is there to drop off clothes meant for donation. When she sees Lamont, Leslie is insults him and Coco, but doesn’t fire them. A furious Coco contemplates revenge. Later that evening, while aboard the yacht, Bull gets a call about Triple Eight being on fire. As they head back, Coco is reported missing.

Incoming police Chief Zara Washington and Ed question everyone and wonder whether Coco started the fire. However, Coco turns up, exhausted and dehydrated, on the beach in Tuckernuck. She hazily remembers falling off the yacht and is shocked to learn about the fire. Ed and Zara discover that Leslee committed arson: They find boxes of cash among the clothes Leslee moved to Coco’s apartment. Leslee confesses to burning the house down for insurance money because of Bull’s financial trouble.

Leslee receives prison time. Coco writes a screenplay titled The Personal Concierge about the events of the summer, which is turned into a wildly successful movie. When Leslee watches it, she remembers that Coco actually jumped off the yacht and realizes that Coco got her revenge: The Richardsons lost everything, while Coco ended up with money and fame. The book ends with Ed’s final, larger retirement party, which all of Nantucket attends. After the party, he walks down the boardwalk, has a heart attack, and passes away.