Learning of the infidelity of her husband, Nora Cunningham packs up her daughters--Annie, seven; and Ella, twelve--and takes refuge on Burke's Island, a craggy spit of land off the coast of Maine where her mother disappeared at sea long ago. Just as Nora begins to regain her balance, her daughters embark on a reckless odyssey of their own--forcing Nora to finally face the truth about her marriage, her mother, and her long-buried past.