Ella Wainsworth has been in love with her neighbor, Calvert Newlin, ever since she was old enough to understand what the word meant, maybe before. She's already suffered the heart ache of watching him marry another and learned to be her friend despite the pain. Now she is watching Calvert bury his wife and struggle to raise his daughter alone. Ella thought she had set aside the crush but finds it has returned full force as she watches him attempt to pick up the pieces. She's too young for him, she knows that, but that doesn't stop her heart from longing. When he begins to show interest in her vain, shallow sister it is almost more than she can take. After her outburst and harsh words at a neighborhood bar-be-cue and his abrupt departure from town, Ella too flees off to finishing school certain she has ruined her friendship with the only man she can ever imagine loving. When she returns nearly three years later it isn't as a young girl anymore but as a woman who still has strong feelings for Calvert. With his arrival back in town nearly on her heels, does she finally have a chance after all?