On the banks of the North Santee River stands an oak tree that was once entrusted with the greatest hopes and fears of three young girls. They promised each other they would be friends forever. Larkin must return to Georgetown, a place she fled nine years ago. But she had no choice: her mother has disappeared. When her mother is discovered badly injured and unconscious in the burned-out wreckage of her ancestral home, secrets long-kept are uncovered - whispers of love, sacrifice, betrayal - that lead back to three girls who found their friendship tested in the most heartbreaking ways.