Katie O'Malley is a free-spirited, artsy, red-haired beauty who is about to graduate from Columbia University. But when her parents, John and Mary O'Malley, die in a tragic plane crash, Katie's life becomes very complicated. First, she learns the plane crash was no accident; her uncle paid someone to tamper with the fuel gauge. And, she certainly didn't expect to lose her heart to the handsome young priest, Andrew Jackson, who comforted her during her time of loss and grief. Nor did she expect to have her feelings returned by the good father. A file in her father's desk reveals the biggest surprise of all. It's a surprise that rocks Katie's world and takes her far from the bright lights of New York City to an unknown future on The Outer Banks of North Carolina. As she searches for answers, Katie wonders if her father's hidden past will be the key to the future she has always longed for.
Other uncertainties plague Katie's future. Will Father Andrew Jackson leave the life of a priest and follow his heart back to her? Or will Katie find a new love in the sleepy little village of Buxton, North Carolina?