In the spring of 1954, in the small seaside town of Skinners Bluff, Anna Danielssen is filled with hope for the future. From the tower of her family's ramshackle house overlooking the sea, she dreams of the world beyond. Anna's mother, Katharine, is a talented musician, regarded by the locals as eccentric. Her sister Charlotte is beautiful, bored and so desperate to leave town she will marry the first man who asks. The two youngest children retreat to a world of their own. It's up to Anna to keep the family together - or is it? What of their father, whose name is never mentioned? With summer approaching, secrets are revealed which will change the family forever. This is the story of a young girl's coming of age, when old dreams are challenged and new dreams discovered.