At fifty, Alice Adams isn't looking for love. Nor is she looking for a new home. She's settled into widowhood and anticipating the arrival of her only daughter's first child. Then she meets Leighton Walker, and love turns her world upside down. Giddy like an infatuated teenager, Alice finds herself wanting to spend as much time as possible with the man who shares so many of her interests. But Leighton Walker is settled into his own life on the coast, with family and business needs over a hundred and fifty miles from Alice's secure world. Can Leighton overcome distance, his family's skepticism, and the conniving efforts of a long-time friend to claim him for her own? Or will the sea beckon him to retain his normal life and refuse a second chance at at love?