Eight years ago, Cooper was dating the hottest and most desired girl in Ash Falls and on his way to take over his father's hotel empire. The thing was, it wasn't the life he wanted. The only way he could escape the life his parents had planned for him, was to give up the money and power that came with being a Chamberlin. And, that's exactly what he planned to do. At the end of the Summer, he was going to leave it all behind, start a new life, on his own terms and without his parents' influence. That was before he met Emma. Following her parents' divorce, Emma Thompson is the rock for her alcoholic mother and her younger sister. She appears resilient, and tenacious, but inside she's falling apart. She's seen what love could do to someone's hopes and dreams. Love was venomous. And, she didn't want to be its victim. So, she's vowed never to fall in love. But when she meets Cooper, she's left with the one choice she never wanted to make. It was supposed to be a Summer fling. They both had dreams of her own. Dreams that didn't include falling in love. No one even knew they were friends, let alone lovers. Yet, for one Summer, Emma became Cooper's entire world. And he, a reminder that love doesn't have to come with warning signs. Until one frightful night, when both of their lives, and the lives of the residents of Ash Falls, were turned upside down. Emma is left with one choice, run from the life she thought she didn't want, and the guy who stole her heart. She never planned on coming back. But, when she returns six years, she is faced with a devastating truth that shakes the very foundation that her life was built upon.