Newly graduated from college and an aspiring writer, Beth Hayes craves independence and has a world to conquer. But her notions of travel, graduate study, and writing the great American novel will have to be postponed--with her mother leaving to fulfill her own dreams in Paris and her Aunt Maggie, Uncle Grant, and stepfather Simon moving to California, Beth is elected by her elders to house-sit the Island Gamble. Buoyed by sentimental memories of growing up on this tiny sandbar that seems to be untouched by time, Beth vows to give herself over to the Lowcountry force and discover the wisdom it holds; to rest, rejuvenate, and then reenter the outside world. Then she meets Max Mitchell, and all her convictions and plans begin to unravel with lightning speed. --From publisher description.