The lives of three generations of women intertwine in the Scottish stone cottage of Agatha, a spinster aunt with more than a helping of spunk. For Agatha's niece Margaret, born in the States but with her own secret connection to the cottage, packing her resentful daughter Hope off to Scotland the summer after her parents have split seems like the cleanest solution to the kind of messy emotions Margaret hates. Margaret spends her summer finding out who she is other than a wife and mother—and she likes it. Hope has to reinvent herself and her vision of her dad, tricky seas to navigate even without trying to figure out how to eat a bannock and remember which way to look when skateboarding across the road. And gentle Aunt Agatha wonders what would have happened if she'd made room in her life for romance and adventure, instead of just for family. Told from the perspective of each woman, The Thorn Tree weaves together the complexities of love and life for each generation, and shows the strength of family ties.