Set against the idyllic Rhode Island shore, two childhood friends reunite in the place where they shared unforgettable summers and discover that some loves—and some memories—never truly fade in this sweeping, heartwarming novel from the acclaimed author of The Wash-Ashores.

Isla has been coming to stay at her grandfather’s Rhode Island cottage for the summer since her mother, an unpredictable artist, first dropped her off many seasons ago. For Isla, the rustic cabin in a small coastal community, has proven a refuge from an unpredictable home life back in New York, and the one happy constant in her formative years.

Cameron is a summer resident, having spent every June through August at his parents’ stately house a few streets away. Since first crossing paths as summer kids on bikes, they became fast friends within a pack of other summer kids, sharing adventures every year they reunited. Cameron’s life is charmed in ways that Isla cannot begin to imagine, but he carries his own family burden, if privately. When his older brother, James, takes notice of Isla one summer during their teenage years, he begins to understand just how complicated his feelings for his summer friend really are.

The summer after high school graduation, their group of friends finds itself torn apart by an accident. Through years of college and after, Cameron and Isla’s connection flickers quietly in the background as each struggle to make a life for themself. Isla establishes herself as an artist, and Cameron breaks tradition with the family business to make his own way. When a funeral pulls everyone back to the shore, years later, will the bright spark of those early summers be enough to light a way forward?