From the time she was twelve, Julie Holt knew what a random tragedy could do to a family. At that tender age, her little sister disappeared, never to be found. As an adult, Julie meets a struggling artist who reminds her so much of her sister, she can't help feeling protective. It is a friendship that begins a long and painful process of healing for Julie, leading her to a house on the Gulf Coast and to stories of family that take her deep into the past.