Charlie Garrett was never sure of his place during his Atlanta childhood. His dad died in Vietnam before he was born; he always felt like a guest in his stepfather’s wealthy family. It is only as a young teacher at the shabby-genteel Abbott School in Massachusetts that he can finally find himself. He begins his reinvention, falling in love with May Bankhead, the school chaplain’s beautiful daughter, and leading a charmed life—until he breaks both her heart and his own. May leaves Abbottsford, he thinks forever.
 
Nearly a decade later, the fragile peace that Charlie has built is shattered by the arrival of his golden-boy half brother—and the return of his first love. Trying to set things right, Charlie pushes his brother and May together, inadvertently creating a triangle of secrets, regrets, and desires, that threatens to consume them all.