Caroline Venable has everything her Southern heritage promised: money, prestige, cocktail parties and a rich land-developer husband, Clay. Everything except happiness. If she drinks a little too much for Clay's liking, he takes comfort that she can escape to the wild, breathtaking island in the Lowcountry - the one place where Caroline can lose herself and simply forget. When she discovers that Clay must either develop the island into a soulless resort or lose the family company, she is devastated. In fighting to save the island - her island - Caroline must draw on the inner strength she has numbed with alcohol, and reconsider her marriage, her role in society and, ultimately, herself...