Hailey McPherson

Bare Islands Hailey McPherson

Earl Eppley, retired obstetrician, and Edna Eppley, retired music teacher, make the journey from Mason City, Iowa to Ko Sawan, Thailand. The Alliance of Naturists has booked the entire island, turning it into a tropical paradise for nudists. For the week, at least. On their tropical nudist vacation, they meet fellow nudists Grant, a journalist from Boston, and Soyala, an artist who makes Hopi crafts, from Albuquerque, New Mexico; Calvin and Louise, who run a bed and breakfast just outside Houston; and their old friends, Nat and Chrys, from Panama City, Florida. The Alliance of Naturists had some difficulty booking enough members on a trip to the other side of the world, so they allowed a few textiles along, provided they understood the rules of a clothing optional vacation. Newlyweds Rick, a screenwriter from Brentwood, California, and his wife, Amanda, are not nudists, but think Ko Sawan might be a good place to take their honeymoon. Closer to Earl and Edna's age than most honeymooners, they may have some trouble adjusting to the island, and each other. Just a few miles away from Brentwood, in Coldwater Canyon, Matilda, a television news editor, lives with Gage, a young artist. Not officially members of the Alliance of Naturists, they have already gone to several events and are more than open to social nudity. With any luck, Earl can bring them on board. Earl and Edna met Harmony on a nudist cruise a few years ago. Originally from Minnesota, she is an expat who lives in China with her roommate, Livia, a singer from Manitoba. Always eager to bring a younger generation into the fold, Earl and Edna ask Harmony to invite her friends to Ko Sawan. Livia and her boyfriend, Hiram, moved to China together more than a few years ago and are more than comfortable with each other. For Harmony and Mthandeni, an expat from Cape Town, South Africa, the island full of nudists is practically their first date. For Earl and Edna, a week on a tropical island in Thailand is the vacation of a lifetime. That it is clothing optional for the duration, and having the chance to meet a variety of nudists their own age and potential nudists from a younger generation or two, only makes the journey that much better.