College senior Lily Hammilton is on the verge of earning her psychology degree and starting a career as a general therapist. But during class, she receives an urgent message from her brother. The news is not good: their father, terminally ill from cancer, has passed away.
At the reading of the will, Lily discovers she has inherited all her father's money. The strangest item she receives, however, is a ferry ticket to Nantucket. As a child, Lily and her father traveled to the island every summer. But why would her father want her to go now, without him? Regardless of his motives, Lily seizes on the opportunity to get away for a while and regroup.
Once on the island, she lands a summer job at a bookstore; finds a new friend in Regina, a fun-spirited teacher looking for adventure; and becomes inundated with childhood memories. Yet matters of the heart begin to ensnare her when she meets Ryan, a handsome, shy young man who instantly captivates her.
But Lily soon discovers that becoming the woman she was meant to be means finding herself while also embracing those around her--a task that proves easier said than done.