Newly graduated from college, aspiring writer Beth Hayes craves independence and has a world to conquer. But notions of travel, graduate study, and writing the great American novel will have to be postponed. Beth is elected by the elders to house-sit the Island Gamble. Surrounded by the shimmering blue waters of the Atlantic, the white clapboards, silver tin roof, and confessional porch have seen and heard the stories of generations of Hamiltons. But will the ghosts of the Island Gamble be watching over Beth?

If everything happens for a reason, then Beth returns to Sullivans Island to learn that betrayal and tragedy are most easily handled when you surround yourself with loyal family and friends in a magical place that loves you so much it wants to claim you as its own.