Annabelle Murphy has spent the last two years recovering from
the death of her husband, Knox, who lost his life while flying
alone in his plane on his way to go hunting…or so she
believes. As she grieves and tries to balance her longing for him
with her present life, her friends in South Carolina's Low Country
surround her with love. In particular, Knox's best friend, Shawn,
has stepped in to comfort Annabelle. Her life still has a
"Knox-shaped emptiness," but she also has her children ---
16-year-old Keeley and college student Jake --- and her job as an
advice columnist.

She is just recovering some of her equilibrium after the tragedy
when the town sheriff arrives with startling news. They have
finally found Knox's plane, which had gone down in the Colorado
wilderness, and his body is there. Although Annabelle has known
that Knox surely died, the finality horrifies her. But she is
stunned when the sheriff reveals that her husband was not alone
when he perished. A woman's corpse was also discovered inside his
plane!

Annabelle is humiliated, dazed, and hurt beyond words. She has no
idea who would have accompanied Knox on his hunting trip. Or was he
even actually going hunting? Had his solitary hunting trips been a
cover-up for an affair all those years? Suddenly, she has doubts
about the most basic cornerstone of her life --- her loving, solid
marriage. None of her and Knox's friends can explain the mysterious
lady, and everyone is shocked and disbelieving that Knox would
stray.

The story is about to hit the newspaper. Annabelle must tell her
children the cruel news, which leads them to question who their
father really was. Annabelle finds herself unable to decide if she
should continue to have faith in her memory of her loving husband,
in the face of what seems to be irrefutable evidence that he
strayed.

Meanwhile, a young woman named Sofie Milstead in Newboro, North
Carolina, studies dolphins at a research center. In spite of her
relationship with her much older boyfriend, the dolphins are her
one true love. The endearing mammals offer Sofie peace in a life
filled with sorrow, lies and secrets. She has been so indoctrinated
with the need to keep the real facts about her life hidden that she
herself sometimes has problems discerning between the truth and the
fiction of her past.

An art historian named Michael Harley begins hounding Sofie for
answers about an artist he believes may be connected to Sofie's
mother through her art studio. This is upsetting to Sofie, but not
nearly so much as encountering a person from her past --- someone
who expects Sofie to share her memories of Knox Murphy. How can she
talk about him without telling of those forbidden truths? It's
impossible.

In a lyrical voice, Patti Callahan Henry seamlessly weaves an
intriguing mystery from the separate strands of Annabelle and
Sofie's lives, while invoking the wonder of their seaside
surroundings. Each character is multilayered, with believable
emotions that arise as long-hidden secrets come to light. Riveting
to the end, the plot twists and turns, giving us a complex enigma
to puzzle over, along with a poignant exploration of the very
nature of faith and love.