There are moments that change your entire life's direction. For Arden Bell, owner of a cherished bookstore in the seaside hamlet of Eliot's Corner, one such moment comes early on a summer day when she opens the door to Laura Huntington--the daughter she hasn't seen in thirty-seven years.

Not a day has passed in which Arden hasn't thought of the baby she glimpsed only once before her wealthy, powerful parents forced her to give her up for adoption. Shy and sheltered, Arden finally mustered the courage to leave her Maine hometown of Port George, changed her name, and has barely seen her parents since. Nor has she heard from Rob, the boy she was so passionately in love with. Now Laura's arrival, and her inevitable questions, will propel both women on a journey to forge a new relationship and unravel the past. Amid revelations and discoveries--sometimes painful, often unexpected--they will learn the truth about a long-ago summer, and about the risks we take and sacrifices we make for love.