The tragic death of an Air Force fighter pilot in desolate Alaska reveals not only his hidden life but the secrets of the lover he left behind. Her attempts to find absolution and build a new life with his best friend-who she'd always secretly loved-creates a downward spiral of events both tragic and hilarious. When a vicious confrontation drives her to ditch her old tax lawyer life, she buys a rather odd sailboat and sets out on a solo journey from Seattle up the Inner Passage of Alaska in an attempt to recover her equilibrium and her sanity. A chance encounter with a dashing Frenchman along the way (and a terrifying accident) brings her and both men together in rather close quarters leading to a difficult choice: Who would she pick and who would be left behind?