At a scenic urban restaurant in Pennsylvania in December 2009, Annette waits for her husband to celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. In the meanwhile, an elderly couple prompts her to tell them her love tale. There is a flashback to August, 1984, in quaint Cape May, NJ. Annette is then a budding pharmaceutical representative in her mid-twenties and deeply involved with her longtime beau and neighbor, Jake, a former football hero turned ambitious entrepreneur. While spending a weekend with her family at their shore-front house, Annette encounters Grant, an outgoing lawyer who is vacationing at his favorite B & B. The two are compellingly drawn to each other and romance, but their fling is halted by Annette's love for Jake. Events quickly occur that alter the courses of the trio, and connections between them are discovered with shocking impacts. Each of them must face occupational and personal challenges while Annette sorts her lifelong feelings for Jake and her whirlwind passion for Grant. The story returns to 2009 with the arrival of Annette's husband and their reflection on the foundation of their union.