The Kellehers' Maine property sits on three acres of sand and pine nestled between stretches of rocky coast. As three generations of Kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears.

There are all sorts of marriages. Evelyn has been married to her husband for forty years, since he slipped off her first wedding ring and put his own in its place. Delphine has seen the highs of seduction and the spitefulness that descends when it's over. James knows his wife's family thinks she could have done better; while Kate, partnered with Dan for a decade, has vowed never to have a wedding. As these lives and marriages unfold, we meet Frances...

"A sweeping, unforgettable novel fromThe New York Timesbest-selling author ofMaine, about the hope, sacrifice, and love between two sisters and the secret that drives them apart. Nora and Theresa Flynn are twenty-one and seventeen when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she's shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn't sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by...