Dorothea Benton Frank once again takes us deep into the heart of the magical Lowcountry where three amazing middle aged women are bonded by another amazing woman's death. Through their shared loss they forge a deep friendship, asking critical questions. Who was their friend and what did her life mean? Are they living the lives they imagined for themselves? Will they ever be able to afford to retire? How will they maximize their happiness? Security?...

In the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Diane English Stiftel, her brother Floyd, and her parents are throwing a barbecue to celebrate her son's engagement. On this gorgeous, magical night, the bride's father, Alejandro Cambria, a wealthy power broker and one of Chicago's celebrated elite, discovers the limits and possibilities of cell phone range. Meanwhile, mother of the bride, Susan Kennedy Cambria, who dabbles in public relations and believes herself...

Anna Lutz Abbot finds her life turned upside down when her much-changed daughter arrives home from college, her wild and sexy ex-husband comes for a visit, her best friend takes up with her father, and Anna herself is enjoying a fling.

With Susan in Paris, Beth returns from college to house-sit the Island Gamble, intending to wrap herself in childhood memories and the island's magic, until cunning Max Mitchell arrives on the scene and steals her heart.

This is a story of people whose lives are changing - a southern gentleman returning home to lead a more peaceful life and his talented New York wife who is not quite sure she is ready to make the transition. They are moving north to south, fast pace versus slow pace, downsizing. And while they are doing this, they are getting glimpses into other people's lives over the course of a summer, holidays that will amuse, shock and transform them.