Pride has always kept a tight rein on Libba Delacourt. The pride that drove her away from Russ Hennessey and into the arms of a traveling actor is the same pride that kept her far away from her home and family in Maryland. It's not until she receives word her mother is ill that Libba finally swallows that pride, quits her job as a genetic biologist, packs up her sixteen-year-old daughter, Chloe, and heads back east. The moment she takes her first breath of the humid salty air of the Chesapeake Bay, Libba knows she is home for good.

As it turns out, Libba is not the only person to return home that long, hot summer. Russ Hennessey has made his way back as well with plans to resurrect his family's fishing business - plans that collapse when an unseen menace sabotages his ambitions.

Together, Libba and Russ discover some awful truths about life in their small town - truths that hit closer to home than they ever imagined.