After Abigail Worthington suffers a stroke, the wealthy widow makes two critical decisions that will change her life and the lives of those around her. First, she hires nurse/companion Lydia Chandler, and second, she decides to spend the summer at her beloved beach home where she hopes to rest and continue her rehabilitation. Before leaving for the beach, Abigail informs her property manager of her plan. But in her eagerness to return, she decides to go a day early without notifying anyone. What she and Lydia find when they reach Abigail's home stuns them. Thus begins the first of a number of incidents that throw this entire elite community into shock and turns their summer into turmoil. A romance heats up in the wealthy neighborhood known as The Cove as scandals threaten the careers of some very high profile individuals even reaching into the Federal Government.