"All her life she had feared death by water. All her life she had imagined the death would be her own. "Ruth's strength is the strength of the Carter family, forged across the generations in the elemental beauty of the Maine coastline, though unlike her forebears she has pursued her destiny by achieving a partnership in a Boston law firm. And Carter House, once the home of rugged, seafaring adventurers, is now an idyllic holiday retreat. But this summer there is no escape from the tensions that have surfaced between Ruth and her gentle husband Paul, and their beautiful, troubled sixteen-year-old daughter Josie or from the tragedy that overwhelms them when a long-promised sailing trip turns their son Will's birthday treat into a nightmare. Trapped in a spiral of guilt and denial, Ruth knows only the darkness of grief until she finds the courage to return to Sweetharbor and confront her loss, and to understand why we sometimes inflict the greatest pain on those we love most.