With red hair and fair skin, Chloe stands out for all the wrong reasons at her new school. Especially as she also finds it difficult to talk to others outside her family. It is a relief when summer comes and she doesn't have to deal with unwanted attention. 

Keri, Mereana and Jess have been invited to spend time with Mereana's Grandmother in a small beach town. There is a welcoming pōwhiri at the local Marae, where Mereana and Chloe find out they are distant cousins, and Jess struggles with the cultural differences.

There is a mystery surrounding a recent visitor to the town, a fire in the sand dunes and a near drowning.  Over the week the girls find what they are capable of, and their friendships change and deepen.