Ann Dawson's legacy from Emma Dawson, the cantankerous and miserly aunt whom she had never really known, came at a most propitious time. Weak from a siege of pneumonia, and burdened by doctors' bills, Ann, accompanied by her sister, Terry, arrived in Point Hope to try to make a go of their aunt's store until Ann was offered a substantial sum for the property. Ann had already received one offer from Vin Warren, who worked for his uncle's Harbor Real Estate office but her lawyer, Mal Shaw, thought that Bancroff Enterprises might "up" their offer for Dog Leg, the spit of land jutting out into the ocean on which the store and cottage were located.
As Mal and Vin sparred for advantage in making a deal with Bancroft Enterprises, Ann found herself growing fond of Mal, a widower with a young son. True, she didn't love him, but marriage to the lawyer would mean security and security was what Ann wanted most of all. And Point Hope, with its gray-shingled cottages, its white fences and roses, would be a pleasant place to live.
Then Bancroff Enterprises reneged on its offer...and Ann knew that she must decide not only what she should do with her property, but which of the two men in her life she should marry."